Octans Aircraft brought its prototype single-engine, five-seat Cygnus to LABACE, and the company has applied for Brazilian ANAC certification of the currently experimental-category airplane.
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Octans Aircraft brought its prototype five-seat piston single Cygnus to LABACE, and the company has applied for Brazilian ANAC certification of the airplane. Having exhibited at LABACE 2019, Brazil-based Octans at the time promised to return to LABACE with certification plans for Cygnus.
Prototype 001 arrived at Congonhas Airport for LABACE 2023 under its own power, flown from Octans’s upstate São João da Boa Vista factory by two pilots. The trip added more time to the prototype’s already logged 100 flight-test hours.
Octans started the ANAC certification process in December 2022 under a program designed to facilitate new manufacturers. The design remains similar to the configuration of the airplane at LABACE 2019, with power provided by a 300-hp Lycoming IO-540 piston engine and Hartzell metal three-blade propeller. Cruise speed is 160 knots and range more than 950 nm. The airplane’s structure is conventional aluminum.
The target market for the Cygnus is agribusiness, where its suitability for unimproved runways will be key. The high cantilevered wing provides passengers with unimpeded views, as well as a cleaner aerodynamic profile. Three different styles of interior finishing will be offered, ranging from the simple—favored by the agricultural customers for whom the aircraft is designed, according to Octans quality analyst Marcos Vincius—to the more luxurious, preferred by those whose lives are more city-centered.
The prototype’s graffiti-style paint job is by artist Pespa, with the swirls and angles resolving to “Octans” on the right side and “aircraft” on the left. Cygnus 001’s interior is equally unusual, as it is finished in transparent acrylic panels that show off the airplane’s structure and electronics.
Octans Aircraft brought its prototype single-engine, five-seat Cygnus to LABACE, and the company has applied for Brazilian ANAC certification of the currently experimental-category airplane. Having displayed at LABACE 2019, Octans at the time promised to return to LABACE with certification plans for the Cygnus.
Prototype 001 arrived at Congonhas Airport for LABACE 2023 under its own power, flown from Octans’s upstate São João da Boa Vista factory by two pilots. The trip added more time to the prototype’s already logged 100 flight test hours.
Octans started the ANAC certification process in December of 2022, under a program designed to facilitate new manufacturers. The design remains similar to the configuration of the airplane at LABACE 2019, with power provided by a 300-hp Lycoming IO-540 piston engine and Hartzell metal three-blade propeller. Cruise speed is 160 knots and range over 950 nm. The airplane’s structure is conventional aluminum.
The target market for the Cygnus is agribusiness, where its suitability for unimproved runways will be key. The high cantilevered wing provides passengers with unimpeded views as well as a cleaner aerodynamic profile. Three different styles of interior finishing will be offered, ranging from the simple—favored by the agricultural customers for whom the aircraft is designed, according to Octans quality analyst Marcos Vincius—to the more luxurious, preferred by those whose lives are more city-centered.