Country of origin:

Slovakia

Description:

Two-seat light sport monoplane

Power Plant:

One 71 kw (95 hp) UL Power Aero UL260I four-cylinder horizontally opposed air-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

An entrant into the field of light aircraft was the Aveo Phantom in 2008, a two-seat, high-wing light sport aircraft (LSA) monoplane developed at Kosice in Slovakia. The engineering and design company is said to have decided rather than design and manufacture for other companies, it would develop a new design from the start. The aircraft has no electro-mechanical instruments, being provided with a full panel equipped with digital instruments in the form of a glass panel, information being presented on LCD panels. Called the AveoFlightDeck it was described as the worlds first fully-integrated touch screen with a comprehensive flight deck for both the certified and un-certified market.

A variant of the Phantom was the Shadow, similar in configuration and fit-out to the Phantom but with a low-wing in lieu of the high-wing. The Phantom and Shadow shared 80 per cent commonality, the wing attachments and the cabin structure being different. Both had a tricycle undercarriage, but could be fitted with a tailwheel if required, and a towing hook for glider towing. The main legs of the undercarriage were tapered titanium units, and the nosewheel had an aluminium fork.

The wings were all-metal with flush riveted skin covering. The fuselage was of chrome molybdenum steel framework with composite skin. Power was provided by a UL Power Aero of Belgium UL260i four-cylinder horizontally opposed 3592 cc air-cooled engine with FADEC. The engine was provided with fully electronic variable timing ignition and multipoint fuel injection. The direct-drive, low-rpm, unit was said to increase safety and reduced pilot workload through a single level control.

Control was by what is described as a SmartYoke which has an LCD tough screen with six buttons, the first operating the radio and navigation systems, including the GPS; a second button bringing up the top ten GPS waypoints for direct navigation, the nearest airport waypoint etc. The third button showed a list of lights including the landing lights, strobe, courtesy, taxi and map. The fourth button displayed phone numbers allowing calls from the aircraft; and the fifth button dealt with brightness control for all DFD screens and the sixth button dealt with customisable checklists.

Development continued for some time, the aircraft later being fitted with what was described as the AveoAutoFly autopilot and AveoEyeFly head-up display; the AveoBlackBox flight data records and the AveoTimeTunnel which would provide all flight data to a thumb drive so that all aspects of flight could be later examined for training and monitoring purposes. This development led to the wing skins being attached by flush riveting and having twice as many ribs as other light aircraft types. Antennae and sensors were installed inside the wingtip to avoid any visual or airflow disturbance.

An unusual part of the design was the keyless remote control entry system and the shaved door lock system which could be activated and controlled from a mobile phone, the door popping outwards and then slowly raising to the open position.

An announcement was made by the Australian distributor, Aveo Aircraft International Pty Ltd, that it would set up a separate production line at the Polo Flat airfield at Cooma, NSW to produce the aircraft, production to commence in 2009. The first demonstration aircraft was to be imported from the manufacturer in early 2009.

The type was launched in New Zealand in July 2009 in Wellington and advertising referred to “great opportunities for New Zealand agents.” There was also reference to Aveo Asia and Aveo Australia, that the type would be available for order in late 2008, and it would be launched in Australia on 4 and 5 October 2008. It was said that it would have a retail price of $125,000 Australia fly-away with a Rotax 912S engine. Reference was also made to a kit-build variant becoming available at 20 per cent or the price of the factory-built aircraft.

In the October 2008 Pacific Flyer magazine referred to Budgie Air Pty Ltd, trading as Aveo Australia being the exclusive Aveo agency for Australia and stated in addition to the two aircraft models, it would offer a comprehensive line-up of Aveo Engineering digital avionics. However, by late-2019 no aircraft is known to the author to have been imported, completed and flown in Australasia.