Adam Aircraft Industries
Founded 1998
Defunct 2009
Headquarters Arapahoe County, Colorado
Key people George F. Adam, Jr.
John C. Knudsen
Products Aircraft
Total Produced Aircraft 9
Adam Aircraft Industries (AAI) was an aircraft manufacturer founded by George F. Adam Jr and John C. Knudsen in 1998. The company was located at Centennial Airport in the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area of Colorado.
The company certified and produced the inline piston twin-engined Adam A500, while the turbofan-powered Adam A700 AdamJet was under development. The A700 was intended to be an entrant into the niche of Very Light Jets (VLJs), but its development was ceased before production was achieved.
One of the first Adam A500s manufactured, A500 s/n 0002, was featured in the 2006 Michael Mann film Miami Vice.
In conjunction with partners, the company had won a major contract from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the development of a next-generation rotorcraft, indicating possible longer-term product development potential. However, the firm ceased operations on 11 February 2008 and filed for bankruptcy on 15 February 2008.
In April 2008, the assets of the company were purchased from bankruptcy by AAI Acquisition Inc. AAI failed to restart Adam Aircraft and in April 2009 Adam Aircraft finally ceased operations and laid off all its staff.
In April 2011 Triton Aerospace announced that they had acquired the company's assets.
Adam A-500
The Adam A500 was developed and produced by Adam Aircraft Industries as a six-seat twin-engine civil utility aircraft. The twin-boom aircraft took to the skies for the first time on July 11, 2002, and features a push-pull configuration and two powerful Continental TSIO-550E piston engines. Production was completed with a total of seven aircraft built.
The company's A500 twin-engine piston airplane is prominently featured in “Miami Vice,” the new film by award-winning director Michael Mann. In this still from the summer blockbuster “Miami Vice,” undercover agents Crockett and Tubbs fly a load of cocaine in an Adam Aircraft A500.
On July 1, 2002, the A500 prototype conducted its maiden flight. In May 2005, t was awarded its Federal Aviation Administration certification. In February 2008, the manufacturing company Adam Aircraft stopped operations and filed for bankruptcy. Aircraft production was completed with a total of seven A500s were produced. In 2008.
The Adam A500 was derived from the M-309 CarbonAero technology demonstrator which took its first flight in March 2000. In comparison to conventional twin-engine configuration, the centerline thrust arrangement of the aircraft lessens drag and amplifies the aircraft controllability in case one of the engines fails to function. The A500 is designed with a pressurized cabin and the airframe is mainly constructed with carbon fiber epoxy composite and a Nomex flame-resistant meta-aramid honeycomb core.
The American civil utility aircraft is operated by a single crew and can accommodate up to five passengers in flight. It has an external length of 11.43 meters, an external height of 2.3 meters, and a fuselage diameter of 1.45 meters. The wingspan is 13.41 meters, the tail height is 2.92 meters, and the wheelbase is 3.08 meters. It has an empty weight of 2,427 kg, a gross weight of 3,175 kg, and a maximum payload of 700 kg. The fuel tank capacity is 230 US gallons.
The A500 is powered by twin Teledyne Continental TSIO-550E engines. It is a fuel-injected six-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston engine which produces a maximum takeoff thrust of 350 horsepower each. The aircraft has a maximum speed of 225 knots and a cruise speed of 220 knots. The stall speed is 75 knots in landing configuration with gear and flaps down. It has a range of 892 nautical miles at 75% power and a ferry range of 1,286 nautical miles at 45% power. The aircraft has a maximum certified service ceiling of 25,000 feet and 14,900 feet on one engine. The rate of climb is 1800 feet per minute.
Adam A-700 AdamJet
The Adam A-700 AdamJet was proposed by Adam Aircraft Industries in 2003 as a six-seat civil utility aircraft. It was designed similarly with the Adam 500 but fitted with more powerful twin Williams FJ33 turbofan engines. On July 28, 2003, the A700 prototype took to the air for the first time. Aircraft development ended in April 2009 with a total number of two A700 prototypes built.
Adam's Aircraft's business model is the Revenue and cost model. He wants to sell all the A500 as personal aircrafts, A700 as business aircrafts and sell the variants of the two as service aircraft.
After the Adam Aircraft filed for bankruptcy and was acquired by The Industrial Investments, the Russian company reinitialized the development of the A700. The company originally planned to have the aircraft certified in the first quarter of 2010, however, it was to be postponed.
The Federal Aviation Administration agreed on the preceding certification data recorded by the Adam Aircraft that would very much simplify the certification attempts of the AAI. But in April 2009, the former company Adam Aircraft stopped operations together with the cease of A700 development.
The proposed A700 is operated by one or two pilots and can carry four to six passengers depending on the cabin configuration. It features a central fuselage and two longitudinal booms that hold the rudders connected by a horizontal stabilizer. The exterior length is 12.42 meters, the exterior height is 2.4 meters, the tail height is 2.92 meters, and the fuselage diameter is 1.45 meters. The aircraft is also equipped with an Avidyne Entegra glass cockpit. The straight tapered wings have a wingspan of 13.41 meters. The wheelbase is 4.7 meters. The aircraft has an empty weight of 2,517 kg, and a maximum payload of 1,430 kg. The maximum takeoff and landing weights are 4,241 kg and 4,081 kg, respectively. The fuel tank capacity is 394 US gallons.
The A700 is fitted with two Williams FJ33-4A turbofan engines. Engine configuration is composed of a single-stage fan, with a booster stage, driven by a two-stage low-pressure turbine, supercharging a centrifugal high-pressure compressor, driven by a single-stage high-pressure turbine. It also features an annular combustor. Each engine produces a maximum takeoff thrust of 1,350 lbf.
The aircraft has a maximum speed of 332 knots and a stall speed of 63 knots. The range is 1,400 nautical miles. It can fly up to 41,000 feet and can climb at a rate of 2,550 feet per minute.
List of Adam Aircraft Models and Very Brief Information:
Financial problems and cessation of operations
In April 2008, the assets of the former company were purchased from bankruptcy by AAI Acquisition Inc.
In January 2009 the company announced it was seeking a new strategic partner to help it expand into new areas of business: sub-contract engineering and manufacturing for the aerospace and custom automotive industry, projects that could make use of the company's expertise in composite design and manufacturing. The company said that it had not abandoned the A700 jet project. Company Vice President of Business Development Steve Patrick said: "Based on our initial efforts, we are building a viable business base for our engineering solutions and services while retaining the option to re-launch the A700 business jet. AAI failed to restart Adam Aircraft.
In April 2009, unable to find non-aerospace work for its facilities, new partners and out of operating capital, AAI Acquisition closed Adam Aircraft and laid off the last of its staff.
Fate Shut down by owner…
In April 2011 Triton Aerospace of Skagit Regional Airport in Burlington, Washington announced that they had acquired the assets of Adam Aircraft. Two new prototypes were expected in 2013 with re-certification to follow. The company owner, Thomas Hsueh, indicated that for now production is planned for the US, but costs may require moving the assembly line to China, or even a lower cost country, such as Mexico. Triton indicated that they have no plans to produce the A700 jet.
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