National capital partnership creates Novaer
Valor Econômico - 05/12/2009
Novaer Craft, a joint-venture formed by the Flight Technologies, Winnstal and Geometra companies, is the newest Brazilian aeronautical industry, created to cater to the general aviation segment. The first product of such new company, the T-Xc airplane, was drawn by Joseph Kovacs, Embraer's designer of the Tucano and T-25 Universal aircrafts. The concept demonstration model of the new aircraft, which will have a military version for primary training and another executive version, has already been tested in flight. The next step is the development of the prototype, which will be financed with fund from the Studies and Projects Financing Agency (Finep).
The military version, baptized T-Xc Pilgrim, is being developed with the purpose of becoming a competitive alternative of replacement of the current fleet of T-25 Universal aircrafts, used for more than 40 years in the primary training of the cadets of the Brazilian Air Force Academy (AFA, in Portuguese), in Pirassununga (SP). The civil version of the T-Xc, on its turn, baptized Stardream, was developed to compete in the market of the utility transport and its main rival is the American model Cirrus MR. 22, single engine piston aircraft, that sold 700 units in 2007, at the average price of US$ 600 thousand each. In the first stage of development of the aircraft, according to one of the officers of Novaer, Luiz Paulo Junqueira, the investment foreseen amounts to R$ 12 million (US$ 5.45 million), an amount that will be divided between Finep and the Novaer partners. The second stage of the project, which is the certification of the product and the third one, involving the industrialization itself, should require total funds of R$ 38 million (US$ 17.3 million). Such value, however, has not yet been provided. According to Junqueira, Novaer will fill the gap that currently exists in the general aviation market in Brazil. Besides Embraer - a large-sized company -, the only industries that manufacture aircrafts in Brazil are Helibrás (helicopters) and Aeromot (glider and motor glider) from Rio Grande do Sul. "The creation of Novaer allows another aeronautical chain in the country, with new options of supply, which contributes for the maintenance of the industries of the sector, highly dependent on Embraer today".