The Brumby Aircruiser is a four-seat

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

aircraft currently under development by

Brumby Aircraft Australia Brumby Aircraft Australia is an Australian aircraft manufacturer that produces a range of kit- and ready-built civil light aircraft. The company is based at Cowra Airport in the Central West of New South Wales and has also signed partnership ag ...

. The design has its origins in the 1960s

Victa Aircruiser __NOTOC__ The Victa Aircruiser was a 1960s Australian four-seat touring monoplane designed by Henry Millicer and built by Victa. Development Following the success of the earlier Airtourer, Millicer designed a four-seat version which he called th ...

, itself a development of the successful

Victa Airtourer The Victa Airtourer is an all-metal light low-wing monoplane touring aircraft that was developed in Australia, and was manufactured in both Australia and New Zealand. Design and development The Airtourer was the winning design, submitted by Hen ...

Design and development

A single example was completed in 1966, before the company ceased aircraft production in 1967 when the government declined tariff protection. The design was later developed into the

PAC CT/4 The Pacific Aerospace Corporation CT/4 Airtrainer series is an all-metal-construction, single-engine, two-place with side-by-side seating, fully aerobatic, piston-engined, basic training aircraft manufactured in Hamilton, New Zealand. History ...

. The

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

was sold to Brumby in 2013. As of 2015, the status of the modernised aircraft is described by the company as in the "final design" stage. It will be marketed as a both a touring and business aeroplane. Under a recent deal with China's AVIC, engineers will travel to Brumby's

Cowra, New South Wales Cowra is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 9,863. Cowra is located approximately above sea level, on the ...

plant to assist with production of the Aircruiser. The deal has shifted much of the production of Brumby's existing models to a larger facility in China, allowing the Cowra factory to concentrate on the Aircruiser project.

Variants

Brumby intends to offer three variants. A

Continental IO-360 The Continental IO-360 is a family of fuel-injected air-cooled, horizontally opposed six-cylinder aircraft engines manufactured by Continental Motors in the United States of America, now part of AVIC International since 2010. The engine is a ...

powered version will be aimed at pilot training or as a replacement for the aging

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.

and

Piper Archer The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...

. A more powerful

Continental IO-550 The Continental IO-550 engine is a large family of 9 liter fuel injected six-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engines that were developed for use in light aircraft by Teledyne Continental Motors. The first IO-550 was deliver ...

will be offered to compete with the

Cirrus SR22 The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine four- or five-seat composite aircraft built from 2001 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota. It is a development of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity, and a more powerful, 310-horsep ...

. A third option will be powered by a derated Rolls-Royce M250 turbine driving a three-bladed propeller, producing . Brumby will market this version specifically as a business aircraft, with no established competitor. The Aircruiser design already meets the requirements of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

FAR 23 The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). A wide variety ...

equivalent certification.

References

{{Brumby Aircraft 2010s Australian civil utility aircraft Brumby Aircraft Australia aircraft