“Wow” was all I could say as I held the throttle forward in the climb out of Camarillo Airport in California on our way to Bend, Oregon. David Robinson, Epic Aircraft’s chief pilot, said he often hears similar expressions from the left seat during demo flights, though generally a slightly less polite version. We were climbing at 175 knots indicated, faster than most airplanes I fly cruise, and showing a climb rate of 3,500 fpm.
I was in the captain’s seat of the Epic LT, the predecessor to the Epic E1000, a certified version of the turboprop kitplane Epic hopes to bring to market next year. The Epic is a sleek carbon-fiber machine powered by a single Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67A, producing 1,200 shp. With about a decade of experience behind it, and with continuous tweaks being made in the process, the Epic is just about ready for prime time. The company hopes the E1000 will debut as the fastest single-engine airplane on the market.
