page_title: GippsAero
section_title: GA8 Airvan
hierarchical_section_title: GippsAero / Aircraft / GA8 Airvan
caption_attribution_description: English: A Gippsland Aeronautics GA8 Airvan accelerates down the runway on takeoff. It is one of the Civil Air Patrol aircraft that came to West Houston Airport to support the assessment of Hurricane Rita. The GA8 is the latest aircraft in the CAP inventory. FAA Registry
context_page_description: GippsAero is an Australian aircraft manufacturer based at Latrobe Valley Airport in Morwell, Victoria. The company builds single-engined utility aircraft. These include the multi-role GA8 Airvan and the agricultural GA200 Fatman. The company has been majority owned by Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group since 2009.
context_section_description: Despite the success of the Fatman variants, profitability was too dependent on the roller coaster cycles of the agricultural industry worldwide. Subsequently, Gippsland Aeronautics' second new design, the GA8 Airvan, was conceived by directors/designers Furlong and Morgan as a utility transport to replace the Cessna 206/207 and DHC Beaver. Recognising the Cessna 206 as "one of the world’s best workhorses", the pair saw the potential niche market for a piston-engine aircraft that could carry more passengers. This would improve the operators’ profitability without going to the expense of purchasing a turbine powered aircraft.
  Thus the high wing, eight seat GA8 Airvan was born using the design of the GA200C as a basis. Certification commenced in 1993 with the building of the first prototype/proof of concept aircraft.
  After eight years in development, the GA8 Airvan was type-certificated by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority to FAR 23 Amendment 48 requirements in December 2000 and subsequently updated to Amendment 54 status in early 2003. This was followed by certification by the United States Federal Aviation Administration and the Canadian Transport Canada in the same year. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certificated the  Airvan in 2005.
  The GA8 Airvan has now achieved export sales in the UK, Holland, Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, USA, Canada and Belize in Central America, in addition to in-country sales in Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
  In October 2006, Gippsland Aeronautics announced that "the turbocharged prototype aircraft has commenced flight testing.  The chosen engine is the Lycoming TIO 540 AH1A engine, which is a turbocharged version of the currently installed normally aspirated engine."
caption: US Civil Air Patrol GA8 Airvan on takeoff from West Houston Airport during a mission following Hurricane Rita in 2005.
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