Matheus Grande, CEO, Texas Aircraft Manufacturing, officially announced the company's development program for its new-generation Colt light sport aircraft (LSA).

"We are extremely proud to introduce our new Colt today," Grande said. "We have dreamed of this day for a long, long time and to finally see the realization of this dream take form as a real, flying airplane is a very happy and emotional time for us all."

"It is our belief that the LSA market is in need of a new American made airplane that delivers the safety, strength, comfort and quality that we are building into the new Colt," he said. "We feel very strongly that the Colt will help many pilots realize their long-held dream of premium quality aircraft ownership."

"The Colt is the first American made LSA to feature a trifecta of safety features including an all aviation-grade aluminum airframe, welded Chromoly steel passenger safety cell and a ballistic parachute system," Grande said. "This distinctive combination is even more exciting in a semi-cantilever, high wing design that is a lot of fun to fly."

"While this wonderful airplane is the culmination of seemingly endless hours of work by an extremely dedicated team, none of it would have been possible without the guidance of our chief design visionary, Caio Jordao," he said. "For over 12-years Caio was at the helm of Brazil's popular INPAER family of aircraft before joining Texas Aircraft."

"To many of us, Caio is truly the godfather of personal aviation in Brazil," Grande added. "Caio's efforts helped a lot of pilots in Brazil realize their dream of aircraft ownership. And that's what we want to do for the rest of the world with the Texas Aircraft Colt."

"I am happy and humbled to be part of the team that is creating the Colt," Jordao stated. "The Colt was inspired by the INPAER Conquest 180 LSA, so there is a lot of proven engineering and manufacturing behind it."

"My son, Diego, our Chief Test Pilot, just loves flying the Colt. He said it is the most fun and easy to fly airplane of all of our designs," he added. "And with over 400 INPAER aircraft flying and accumulating more than 150,000 hours of flight time in Brazil, that is saying quite a lot about what an amazing airplane the new Colt really is."

Grande said that now that the company is up and running in its new production facility based at South Texas Regional Airport in Hondo, Texas, they can concentrate on working the Colt prototype through the requirements to earn ASTM Certification.

"We are extremely optimistic that we will have all of the certification requirements completed in time for our official introduction at Oshkosh AirVenture," he said. "We want to invite everyone to come by our exhibit (booths: 355, 356, 361 & 362 at AirVenture) to see the Colt and maybe another fantastic surprise."

About the Texas Aircraft Colt:

- Aircraft Certification: ASTM S-LSA

- Engine Type: 100 horsepower Rotax 912 ULS

- Cruise Speed at 75% power: 110 knots*

- Stall Speed - Flaps: 38 knots*

- Colt Safety Features:

- Airframe parachute GRS 6/600 SD Speedy

- Welded chromoloy safety cell

- Four-point safety harnesses

- All aviation-grade aluminum airframe

*All specifications are subject to change without notice.