After introducing its M2 Skywave amphibious airplane at ABACE last year, Oxai Aircraft returned to this year’s iteration of the show with certification plans firmly in place. Water testing will begin next week, and first flight of the M2 should take place in about two months, said Oxai chief designer, president and CEO Roger Mao.
He expects that the airplane will receive CAAC type design approval this year in a framework similar to U.S.light sport aircraft ASTM F2245 standards compliance.
The amphibious M2 has an all-composite airframe and it is powered by a 100-hp Rotax 912iS. Avionics are dual Garmin G3X Touch displays with a Garmin G5 attitude indicator as backup. Oxai has orders for 47 M2s so far. “People are very excited and push me for when they can test fly it,” said Mao.
Meanwhile, the Shanghai-based company also brought its Mozi solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to ABACE, displaying it during the “International Solar-powered Aircraft Development” forum, which Oxai and local science and engineering organizations co-hosted on Monday.
The Mozi UAV was developed by Oxai and Shanghai Science & Technology Committee and achieved first flight on Dec. 9, 2016. The solar forum featured Mao; Eric Raymond, who designed and flies the solar-powered Sunseeker motorgliders; Canlong Sun, vice president of Lingang Science and Technology Innovation City Economic Development; and local engineers and researchers.
Source: AIN Online