Extra 500 Composite Turboprop Single Resurrected

Extra Aircraft announced plans Friday to produce the dormant carbon-fiber-fuselage Extra 500 turboprop single in Montrose, Colo., for $1.65 million per copy, with initial customer deliveries beginning late this year or early next. Extra Aircraft intends to send an initial group of seven to 10 employees to Extra’s factory in Dinslaken, Germany, for production training by summer’s end. The aircraft’s fuselage and wings will continue to be made in Germany and shipped to the U.S. for assembly. An economic development package from various Colorado government entities convinced Extra to locate in Montrose. Construction of a new 40,000-sq-ft production facility is expected to begin later this year on a seven-acre site. Announced dealers for the aircraft include New York Jet in Islip, N.Y.; Premier Aircraft Sales in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and U.S. Aero. A fourth dealer will be named later. A spokesman said the company has “good orders” for six aircraft to date and expects to build 15 aircraft next year and 30 in 2012.