Cobalt Unveils Co50 Valkyrie

Pia Bergqvist

Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 10:27 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Cobalt has unveiled the Co50 Valkyrie, a new single-engine propeller airplane with a sleek, fighter-jet inspired design aiming to be the fastest certified single-engine plane at 260 knots.
The aircraft features unique safety innovations like a stalling canard and automatic airbrakes, a rear-mounted 350-hp engine, advanced avionics, and a four-plus-one seating configuration.
Order books are open for both experimental ($595,000) and certified ($699,000) models, although the article notes that successful market certification remains a question due to past bureaucratic challenges.

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Today is a big day for a San Francisco-based company named Cobalt as it has unveiled a new single-engine propeller airplane named the Co50 Valkyrie. With a profile more reminiscent of a light fighter jet, Valkyrie could beat out the Mooney Acclaim Type S as the fastest certified single-engine airplane on the market with a top speed of 260 knots.

Whether Valkyrie will make it to market is another question, however. Cobalt’s founder and CEO David Loury said the project has been underway for about 10 years, having moved from both France and Canada, where Loury found the bureaucracy of the certification process too arduous. Loury moved the company to San Francisco about 1.5 years ago.