HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Here is one of our favorite photos of the year. This is a photo of Stephen Pedano’s Panther LS at OSH 2016 Night Air Show. Thank you Ed Hicks, Flyer Magazine.
This year has been a wonderful year for SPA. We have grown older, wiser, and more grateful for our customers, our gifts and blessings.
Here are a few re-caps across the year:
- Our team members Travis Young (welding and machining) and Patrick Amble (machining, sheet metal and fabrication) celebrated their 2 year anniversaries! They have both been pivotal to our success and we are very grateful that they have found a lasting home with Team SPA and expect them to continue to grow with our company.
- Lisa Finch joined Team SPA – taking charge of orders, accounting, inventory, customer service and organization. She has been a great asset to the team, and we expect her to be a continued and long term asset. See more about our team HERE.
- Paul Salter finished his Panther and is working on finishing phase 1 flight testing.
- We installed a CNC router to do the majority of the sheet metal work in house, and it has been up and running for almost a year now.
- We celebrated a total of 10 Panthers flying! This is a great accomplishment for the Panther design and we congratulate all of our builders and flyers in a job well done.
- Team SPA now has a total of 85 Panther builders! We have also had a ton of builders make excellent progress throughout the year and they sent in some photos regarding their progress. You can see them HERE.
- We launched a new online Panther Builders Manual platform that is searchable and interactive. A special thanks to Tony Spicer and Paul Salter for their dedication to documentation and photos along their builds to make this a reality for us all.
- We partnered together with Sensenich Propellers to develop a ground adjustable propeller for the Corvair engine – completing their testing protocol with the Panther 3.3L engine combo for the Corvair fleet application. This prop option will provide an option for all Corvair engine installations across the board. Pricing available soon!
- We released the Corvair EIB Program to builders – a way to offer a one stop shopping option to the Corvair Flight Engine.
- We successfully tested the Corvair 3.3L engine and have rolled out a quick start kit and incorporated this into the EIB program for builders.
- We developed Corvair Kit Fox and Savannah firewall forward options for builders.
- We processed 61 sets (pairs) of reconditioned Corvair Cylinder Heads for Corvair builders.
- Released Panther Pre-Bonded Canopy options to builders.
- Team SPA partnered with William Wynne of FlyCorvair.com and consolidated all of the Corvair conversion shipping, parts management and customer service front-end for the FlyCorvair conversion parts.
EXPECTATIONS FOR 2017
- Panther Tri-Gear option slated for official release by end of Q1. Prototype parts are finalizing now.
- We are working with our hardware supplier to offer a condensed hardware package for builders – consolidating the one stop shopping aspect.
- NKET 51% Certification – we are looking to schedule the inspection in Q2 of this year. This will put the Panther kit on the certified 51% rule list, helping builders streamline their paperwork during their inspection with the FAA.
- Delivery of the first batch of Corvair 3.3L “Engine in a Box” kits by end of Q1.
- Streamlining CNC production of the Panther kit, minimizing the delivery time and maximizing the in house manufacturing capabilities we are developing every day. Building on the “Just in Time Manufacturing” model to minimize the parts storage requirements – keeping overhead low.
- Cougar – laying the ground work on the design and prototype work. This offering will be a different from the Panther delivery to the public. The documentation and builder information will come to market at the same time as the aircraft. Although this will considerably extend the design/prototype phase, it will elevate the builder experience giving them the tools to be successful and productive with their build right out of the gate.
- Events that are on the calendar so far for 2017:
- Corvair College – Barnwell, SC – March
- Sun ‘N Fun Airshow – Lakeland, FL- April
- EAA Airventure – Oshkosh, WI – July
- Deland Sport Aviation Showcase – Deland, FL – November
Please join us at one of our events and don’t forget about our annual cookouts @ SNF and OSH. This is going to be a great year – again – for SPA, and we are excited to take on our new endeavors while expanding and improving on our existing projects and products.
Thanks for a great year!
-Team SPA
