Gippsland GA-8-TC 320 Airvan VH-CIK
The General Aviation (GA) parking area south and to the west of the Control Tower generally is a changing vista of aircraft seeking short term parking.
One such visitor has been VH-CIK, a Gippsland GA-8-TC 320 Airvan.
It is manufactured in Australia by the Gippsland Aeronautics Pty. Ltd in Gippsland, to the south/south east of Melbourne and is marketed as a utility aircraft with outstanding short take-off and landing capability.
Side view of VH-CIK looking east from the field.
This particular aircraft was manufactured in 2010 and is operated by Airvan Flight Services of Morwell.
The GA-8 Airvan is quoted by the manufacturer as being 29ft 4.3 inches long, with a wing span of 40 feet and seats 8.
Its Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW) is quoted as 1905kg with a maximum speed of 241 kmph at 5000 feet and cruising speed of 222 kmph at 10000 feet. The ceiling for the GA-8 is quoted as 20000 feet. Not bad for a single engined piston aircraft.
Front shot of the GA-8 Airvan with heavy duty undercarriage and 3 bladed propellor.
The typical power plant for the GA-8 airvan, as quoted by the manufacturer is a Textron Lycoming IO-540-K1A5- 6 Cylinder Direct Drive Fuel Injected Engine-300 HP @ 2700 RPM or a Textron Lycoming TIO-540-AH1A, 6 Cylinder Direct Drive Turbocharged Fuel Injected Engine 320 HP @ 2500 RPM
More details on the GA-8 Airvan can be found at the Gippsland Aeronautics Pty. Ltd website.
Photographs taken using a Fuji S200EXR and are copyright vkthreepi.
Photographs have been compressed for web presentation.