Northwest Aerospace News February | March Issue No. 13 | Page 83

AEROSPACE COMPANY OF THE YEAR
EPIC AIRCRAFT
On November 6th, 2019,
Epic Aircraft announced
that they had been granted
FAA Type Certification for
their E1000 clean sheet all
carbon fiber aircraft design.
Without compromising on
performance expectations,
they met the requirements,
even given the higher FAA
Doug King, Epic CEO
standards for composite
versus metal designs. This concluded a rigorous seven-
year program that established a new industry standard
for performance, price and ramp appeal in the personal
aircraft marketplace. The E1000 is the fastest, highest
performing, most affordable and comfortable, six-place
single-engine turboprop in the world.
2004, it began redefining the rules of aviation when it
debuted its first experimental aircraft, the Epic LT. Its artful
combination of turbine power, composite technology,
advanced avionics and unforgettable luxury, packaged in
a sleek, elegant airframe, caused the aviation industry
to take notice. And it didn’t stop there. Today, with over
300 full time staff, it successfully applied the collective
knowledge and experience gained from
jointly building over 50 Epic LT ‘kits’ toward
the E1000 certification.
Epic is currently guided by Doug King,
himself a former Epic LT owner. In March
of 2012, Epic Aircraft was purchased by a
private investor who agreed to fund the
company’s type certification program.
Doug assumed the role of CEO, bringing
his successful business experience and
passion for aviation to Epic. Prior to
joining the company, he owned several
highly successful transaction processing
and computer services businesses in
Southern California. He was instrumental in
revitalizing the operations of Syncro Aircraft
in Van Nuys, California, a premier business
jet refurbishment center on the west coast
that specializes in Gulfstream, Learjet,
Hawker, Boeing and Falcon aircraft.
“Epic is a marvelous example of a company with a dream,
who builds a winning team around that dream,” said PNAA
Board Member JC Hall. “They harnessed the knowledge
and workforce-development infrastructure that was
fostered in the 1990s Bend region, and rose up to create
a high-performance business aircraft that competes with
business jets, but operates more economically.”
Headquartered in Bend, Oregon, Epic Aircraft is a design-
driven aviation company that conducts all its engineering
and manufacturing operations in the United States. In
His leadership resolutely guided the company’s E1000
certification efforts toward a successful conclusion in
November. “We have a great team and great partners, who
have worked tirelessly to achieve E1000 certification. We
have a dedicated and passionate owner, whose belief in
the program and product never wavered,” said King. “We
have recruited the necessary resources, knowledge, and
experience to support certification and production of this
game-changing design. We are confident in our ability to
deliver an aircraft that will redefine industry expectations.”
PNAA’s Aerospace Company of the Year Award is presented to the aerospace company located in the Pacific Northwest that has
exhibited exceptional organizational and managerial characteristics while continually maintaining a strong competitive posture, thus
raising the industry standard for the Pacific Northwest.
PNAA ADVANCE / 2020
FEBRUARY 2020 | MARCH 2020 ISSUE NO. 13
FEBRUARY | MARCH 2020 ISSUE NO. 13
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