Proud to be PINOY! A light sport airplane touted by a local manufacturing company as completely assembled in the Philippines is being billed by the Department of Science and Technology as the poster child for the growth potential of the aviation sector. The RP-S512 is a two-seater light sport airplane that is assembled by Famous Secret Precision Machining, Inc. (FSPMI). Jun Ramos, FSPMI marketing head, said that they are confident that the local aviation manufacturing industry will fly in the near term. “We are hoping that our country will be the next aerospace manufacturing hub at least in the region in the next two to three years,” Ramos told reporters. Ramos said that aside from their company, various big players in the industry have recently formed the Aerospace Association of the Philippines due to the growing potential of the business. For their company alone, Ramos said that they are expecting to grow their manufacturing capacity by 50 percent in the next five years due to high demand. At present, the DOST – Metals and Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC) is providing support to other local aviation manufacturers in achieving quality assurance standards. “The training program started last year and we now have about eight companies,” Lina Afable, DOST-MIRDC chief of the technology information section, said. “There is really a potential for this industry to generate jobs,” Afable added. Ramos said that the RP-S512 is their second fully assembled plane, as the first unit has been shipped to the United States. Pending clearance Captain Bill Wright, private consultant for the RP-S512 project, said that local use of the aircraft is constrained at present pending clearance from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). Wright said that the plane’s category, which is a light sports aircraft, has yet to be recognized by the CAAP. “The documents have already been turned over to CAAP so that is still ongoing,” Wright said. The plane costs about $100,000 (approximately P4.4 million) and has reached Cavite or Pangasinan and back on test flights. “This is mostly used by aviation schools for flight instruction and for recreational purposes,” Wright said. Until recently, the Philippine aerospace industry was largely limited to maintenance, repair and overhaul operations, which covers assembly and maintenance services of aircraft manufactured in other countries, primarily in the United States. The RP-S512 will be one of the local achievements to be highlighted by the DOST during the National Science and Technology Week on July 24-28.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 08:52:44 +0000
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