World‘s First Certified Composite Plane Staging (Another) Comeback

The Windecker Eagle, first manufactured in Midland, Texas, back in the early 1970s, will get its second act, it appears, across the world in China

When the Windecker Eagle earned type certification way back in 1969, it was a harbinger of a future in which composite construction would become, if not the dominant materials approach in light aviation, then at least one of two major players. The Eagle in many ways presaged the coming of the Cirrus SR22 and Cessna TTX as a fast, four-place, retractable-gear transportation plane that you could buy and fly. It was fast, too, boasting better speeds than comparable high-performance planes of the day, despite its wide and comfortable cabin.

The plane was attractive, with the looks described by one insider as being like a cross between a Piper Comanche and a Rockwell Commander. The Chinese company resurrecting the Eagle, called, descriptively, Windecker Eagle China, hopes to have a flying airplane within the next several months and to earn certification for it later next year or early in 2019. The plane will feature a Continental IO-550 engine (the same as in the SR22 and TTX) instead of its original Continental IO-520, and it will have a modern glass cockpit, though those details haven't been disclosed yet. Don't expect to see Windecker Eagles lining the ramps at your local airfield, though. The new manufacturer says it will market the plane in China and other Asian countries.

Learn more at Windecker Aircraft.


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A commercial pilot, editor-in-Chief Isabel Goyer has been flying for more than 40 years, with hundreds of different aircraft in her logbook and thousands of hours. An award-winning aviation writer, photographer and editor, Ms. Goyer led teams at Sport Pilot, Air Progress and Flying before coming to Plane & Pilot in 2015.

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