The Aero AT-3 is a two-seat, low wing, utility aircraft manufactured in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Aero AT Aero AT Sp.z o.o. is a Polish light aircraft manufacturer founded by Tomasz Antoniewski in Warsaw in 1994. It is unrelated to the Czech Aero Vodochody, Aero company.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 201 ...

in ready-to-fly certificated form and as a

kitplane Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

. The aircraft is of conventional configuration and features fixed tricycle

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

. The structure is largely of all-metal construction.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 154. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X Designed by Tomasz Antoniewski it first flew in 1997 and deliveries to customers commenced in 2002. It is certified under the European Very Light Aircraft regulations. On July 2, 2010 Aero AT-3 was granted an American

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...

, based on its European VLA certification.

Design and development

The AT-3 R-100 is a single-engined low-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal construction and a fixed tricycle landing gear. It is powered by a nose-mounted Bombardier-

Rotax 912 The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally-aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, la ...

with either a two-bladed wooden or three-bladed composite propeller.

Acquisition by Jiangsu LanTian Aerospace Industrial Park of China

In April 2013, the manufacturer of the AT-3 VLA and AT-4 LSA aircraft, Aero AT Sp. z o.o. was acquired by Jiangsu LanTian Aerospace Industrial Park of China. While production for the European and US markets is to remain in Mielec, Poland, a new assembly facility is being developed in China for the local Chinese Market. In early 2014 plans included production of more than 100 aircraft for Chinese customers by the end of 2015.

Operational history

The first Aero AT-3s were supplied to the Aeroclub of Warsaw in Poland in the early 2000s. The first sales outside Poland were to the UK in 2004 (a total of 16 AT-3s have since been sold to the UK). The aircraft has also proved popular in France with a similar number of sales. Further examples operate in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain and Hungary. As of early 2014, approx 70 Aero AT-3 aircraft have been delivered to customers in Europe, North Africa and Asia. Over 20 LSA variants (AT-4) have been supplied to the North American market. The aircraft are primarily used by flight training organisations with a smaller number of private owners. Variants with glass cockpits and certified for Night VFR have also been delivered in recent years.

Variants

;AT-3 SK :Standard Kit,

homebuilt Homebuilt machines are machines built outside of specialised workshops or factories. This can include different things such as kit cars or homebuilt computers, but normally it pertains to homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or ...

variant. ;AT-3 R100 :Factory-built variant to EASA-VLA standards. ;AT-4 :

Light-sport aircraft A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictions on weigh ...

version for the US market, also sold as the Gobosh 700.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 12. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Specifications (AT-3 R100)

References

External links

*
European Aviation Safety Agency – Type Certificate Data Sheet A021
{dead link, date=October 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Low-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft 1990s Polish civil utility aircraft AT-3 Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1997