Glasair Aviation
 | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founders | Tom Hamilton and Thomas Wathen |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | CEO: Randy Lervold |
| Products | Homebuilt aircraft kits |
| Owner | Jilin Hanxing Group |
| Website | glasairaviation |
Glasair Aviation USA, LLC is a Chinese-owned aircraft manufacturer based in Arlington, Washington that produces the Glasair and Sportsman 2+2 line of homebuilt aircraft. More than 3000 Glasair kits have been delivered worldwide.
History
Tom Hamilton began flight testing the Glasair TD and founded Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft in 1979. Glasair Aviation was formed in 2001 when Thomas W. Wathen purchased the Glasair assets from bankrupt Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft, Inc. and signed an agreement with Arlington Aircraft Development, Inc. (AADI) to buy all rights to and assets of the GlaStar model.[1][2]
In July 2012 the company was sold to the Jilin Hanxing Group, which formed a new company Glasair Aircraft USA, LLC. The company indicated that it intended to certify the Glastar design and otherwise retain production in Arlington, Washington. Its chairman said that purchasing Glasair was "the first step in a very long journey" and envisioned the company producing trainers for flight schools and eventually personal aircraft for the Chinese market.[3][4]
Randy Lervold became the company CEO on 14 May 2019.[5]
In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Glasair paused sales and manufacturing and furloughed most of its production and builder-assist staff, retaining a core team for product support and engineering.[6] Sportsman kit sales resumed in September 2021.[7] In July 2023, the company again stopped accepting new kit orders while moving Sportsman production from Arlington, Washington, to Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China.[8] By December 2024, Sportsman airframes were being manufactured in China, and KITPLANES described the Sportsman kit as being in production, although the availability of Chinese-built kits in the United States remained uncertain.[9]
Aircraft
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glasair I | 1979 | 807[10] | Low-wing, two seat kit aircraft |
| Glasair II | 1989 | 1200 | Low-wing, two seat kit aircraft |
| Glasair III | 1986 | 500 | Low-wing, two seat kit aircraft |
| GlaStar | 1994 | 600 [11] | High-wing, two seat kit aircraft |
| Sportsman 2+2 | 2003 | 400 | High-wing, four seat kit aircraft |
| Glasair Merlin LSA[12] | 2015 | 1 | High-wing, two seat SLSA aircraft |
See also
- Plane Driven PD-1, experimental modification to allow the aircraft to be roadable.
References
- ↑ Glasair Aviation, LLC (n.d.). "A bit of history". Archived from the original on May 10, 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ↑ "EAA news - New Glastar purchase of AADI". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
- ↑ "Glasair Sold To Chinese Company". Avweb.com. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ↑ Bertorelli, Paul (July 23, 2012). "Glasair Buy: Part of a Grander Plan". AVweb. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
- ↑ Cook, Marc (May 14, 2019). "Randy Lervold Is Glasair Aviation's New CEO". AVweb. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
- ↑ Cook, Marc (July 7, 2020). "Glasair Aviation Takes "COVID Pause"". AVweb. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Filipovic, Omar (September 21, 2021). "Glasair Sportsman Kits Available Again". KITPLANES. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
- ↑ Cook, Marc (July 14, 2023). "Glasair Aviation Pauses Kit Sales, Moves Production to China". KITPLANES. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
- ↑ Cook, Marc (December 17, 2024). "Here We Go Again". KITPLANES. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
- ↑ Bud Daviddson (May 2014). "35 Years of Fast Glas". Sport Aviation: 53.
- ↑ "Buying Used: GlaStar - KITPLANES". Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Glasair adds LSA and Certified Aircraft". Sport Aviation: 14. May 2014.
External links
