The first of 34 Epic E1000s ordered by Avantto is now at the fractional provider’s hangar at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. The company expects the final import stages to be completed later this week after Carnaval ends. Bend, Oregon-based Epic Aircraft is readying two more of the all-composite turboprop singles for delivery to Avantto next month, with another two expected to follow in the second quarter.
Avantto’s E1000 is the first of the type to be delivered to a Brazilian customer. Last month, three senior Avantto pilots spent two weeks training at the OEM’s factory, which included both simulator and in-airplane time. An Avantto official told AIN that, despite the bad weather in Oregon, “They’ve all come back having only positive things, very positive things, to say about the aircraft.”
Maintenance will be handled by VOAR Aviation, which has expanded from its Goiânia base to Congonhas. VOAR’s aircraft technicians have already completed maintenance training on the E1000.
The E1000s are part of Avantto’s strategy to extend its fractional share operation, now largely concentrated in Brazil’s southeast region, to the agribusiness public of the central-west region. This is facilitated by the turboprop single’s capability to fly nonstop from ranch runways to urban centers.