“We are very humbled and very happy to be considered a great choice for [the] single-engine piston [category],” said Matheus Grande, CEO of Texas Aircraft Manufacturing, in a note to Flying. The company is working to gain a foothold with its light sport aircraft, the Colt—and it has recently announced a price incentive aimed at flight schools looking for a cost-effective solution for their fleet upgrades. To answer this need, a Colt equipped with the Garmin G3X Touch flight deck is now offered for $139,900.
“As we come out from under COVID-19 induced flight training restrictions, the operators of several flight schools have come to us asking for an affordably-priced, all-metal, Garmin-equipped training aircraft,” Grande said in a company release. “Our solution is the highly-advanced and very-affordable entry-level Colt S-LSA, which is priced at $139,900, below the cost of the fully-equipped Colt-S and Colt-SL S-LSA.”
In addition to the 3X Touch, the streamlined Colt comes with a single Garmin comm, ADS-B Out transponder, and a trio of analog flight instruments on the right-side instrument panel. Continuing with the basic model approach, the cabin has synthetic leather upholstery, left-side-only toe brakes, and an all-white painted exterior with no graphics.
“When you couple the Garmin G3X Touch display with Colt’s attractive pricing, and low operating costs, flight schools now have a truly modern, all-metal, training aircraft that sets a new industry standard for comfort, safety, and ruggedness,” said Caio Jordão, COO of Texas Aircraft. “At our low price, flight schools can now afford to put a state-of-the-art trainer with touchscreen avionics on their flight line for the same hourly rental cost of a much less capable legacy aircraft.” The company was founded in 2017, and it’s based at the Hondo airport in Texas. The Colt was selected as one of Flying’s Editors’ Choice Award winners for 2020.
