In The Works: Farnborough Aircraft F1

“We’re pretty much heads down and focused on obtaining investment capital,” Jonathan Sumner, marketing director of Farnborough Aircraft, told AIN last month. Speaking during a break in discussions with potential investors in New York–his third trip to the Big Apple for this purpose in two months–he said, “The response has been positive and very striking. In the U.S., as compared with the UK, there is agreement that there is a market for the F1. We’ve had expressions of interest on major portions of the money.” The company, which reorganized behind major investor Geoffrey Galley last year, needs to raise about $124 million in equity and $25 million in working capital to bring the F1 turboprop single to certification and into production. Meanwhile, no work is being done on the design of the airplane. “Our philosophy is to raise the money needed for the project first, then return to aircraft development,” Sumner said.