Comp Air flew its new 6.2 sport utility prototype into Sun ‘n Fun on Thursday. The 6.2, a totally new airplane for the company and prolific designer Ron Leuck. Comp Air says it’s targeting pilots hungry for a plane that is capable, comfortable and fast. Constructed in only 14 months, the 6.2 made its appearance in test-flight form, devoid of interior or finished paint. With its fully cantilevered wings and long nose hiding a Lycoming TIO-540, the 6.2 looks the part of a big load hauler.
The 6.2 is designed to be a sport utility vehicle, with 2000 pounds of useful load and rugged fixed aluminum landing gear. The cabin will hold six to eight seats with a cabin class-style rear hatch and stairway. A separate pilot’s door resides on the left side. Most notable about the interior configuration is the absence of a sizable bulkhead behind the cockpit seats. Instead, designer and Comp Air President Ron Lueck strengthened the entire fuselage side panels to carry the loads of the one piece wing. This allows an unbroken line of generously sized windows to brighten the interior. The entire aircraft, except for the landing gear, is constructed of carbon fiber. The prototype panel sports dual Garmin G3X Touch screens as well as a Garmin GTN 650, Garmin autopilot and a G5 backup EFIS.
To carry its 6380-pound advertised gross weight, the 6.2’s one piece, fully cantilevered wing spans 40 feet. Notable are the massive flaps and wide ailerons, which are 25% of the chord. Lueck designed these features to provide low-speed controllability and to allow for a future float plane configuration.
Powering this SUV is a twin turbo Lycoming TIO-540, resulting in 350 horses in the power barn. The brace of turbos will allow the 6.2 to carry most of these horses well into the flight levels. The advertised max cruise is 185 knots at sea level with an economy cruise of 173 knots at 75% power at 8,200’. Horsepower is transmitted to the atmosphere via a 3 bladed Hartzell constant speed Top Prop.
For those who desire more oomph up front, Comp Air is already configuring a 6.2 for a Walter M601 650 HP turbine.
Comp Air is still in flight testing but is confident enough to begin turning out kit packages. The advertised price of the complete airframe kit is $327,000 ($20,000 more if you want a fuselage strong enough for Mr. Turbine to reside up front). The amphibious float option will cost another $125,000. As with other Comp Air products, a factory builder assistance program is offered. Although a more refined looking 6.2, complete with fancy interior and a more populated panel, is scheduled to appear at AirVenture in July, you can get a sneak peak at the beautiful prototype SN 001 at Sun ‘n Fun. For more information, see www.compairaviation.com.
