Comp Air 12 flies to Sun ’n’ Fun

Meanwhile, just steps away from the Cirrus display, Ron Lueck, president of Comp Air, proudly showed off his latest creation, the prototype Comp Air 12 single-engine turboprop. The flight to Lakeland was the airplane’s second and was limited to 150 knots because Lueck didn’t want to raise the landing gear due to a problem with the gear indicator lights. Comp Air will need about $150 million and three years to certify the Comp Air 12, he said. If the company can raise the money, he sees the Comp Air 12 as serious competition for Pilatus’s PC-12. The certified version of the Comp Air 12 would need to be about five feet longer, Lueck also said.