Blue Yonder Aviation

Blue Yonder Aviation is a Canadian aircraft manufacturer, specializing in kit aircraft for the North American amateur-built aircraft and ultralight markets.

Blue Yonder Aviation
TypePrivate company
IndustryAerospace
FounderWayne Winters
Headquarters,
Key people
President: Wayne Winters
ProductsKit plane manufacturing
Number of employees
3 (2005)
Websitewww.ezflyer.com
Blue Yonder President and designer Wayne Winters taxis the prototype Twin Engine EZ Flyer

The company website seems to have been taken down in late 2016 and the company may have gone out of business.[1]

Origins

The company was originally formed by Wayne Winters in 1986 as a flying school teaching students on a single Spectrum Beaver RX550 at Indus/Winters Aire Park south of Calgary, Alberta.[2][3]

The airport had originally been purchased in 1914 by Miltor L. Winters from the Canadian Pacific Railway for Cdn$24 per acre. In 1946 upon returning home from the Second World War Ralph C. Winters purchased the land from the older Winters. In 1970 he graded the first runway on the property. Ralph Winters son, Wayne Winters assumed operation of the airport when his father retired. The airport is home to a large community of pilots and aircraft, including a large number of ultralights.[2]

Present history

In 1996, Blue Yonder purchased the rights to the Merlin from Merlin Aircraft and started manufacturing the aircraft in a converted pig barn on the property. Winters designed the open-cockpit EZ Flyer in 1991 and the Twin Engine EZ Flyer in 1999. The EZ Flyer proved successful and 30 have been completed alongside approximately 50 Merlins. Blue Yonder constructs kits or completed aircraft on a made-to-order basis. For several years US manufacturer Comp Air marketed Blue Yonder-produced Merlin kits in the USA under the name "Aero Comp Merlin", although this arrangement is no longer in effect.[3][4][5]

In 2011 the company introduced a single-seat twin-engine, single-seat, high-wing aircraft, marketed as the Blue Yonder EZ Fun Flyer. Only one was registered in Canada.[6][7][8]

Aircraft

Summary of aircraft built by Blue Yonder Aircraft
Model name First flight Number built Type
Merlin 1986 50 cabin monoplane
EZ Flyer 1991 30 open cockpit monoplane
EZ King Cobra 1998 1 P-63 Kingcobra replica
Twin Engine EZ Flyer 1999 1 Twin engine observation aircraft
EZ Harvard 2002 1 Harvard replica
EZ Fun Flyer 2011 1 Inspired by the Ultraflight Lazair

Merlin Manufacturers

a 1990 model Merlin GT built by Macair Industries

Blue Yonder is the fourth manufacturer of the Merlin design. Companies who have built the Merlin were:[3][9]

Merlin Manufacturers
Company Location Dates Ownership
Macair Industries Baldwin, Ontario, Canada 1988-91 John Burch
Malcolm Aircraft Michigan, USA 1991-92 John Burch
Merlin Aircraft Michigan, USA 1993-96
Blue Yonder Indus, Alberta 1996–present Wayne Winters

References

  1. Blue Yonder Aviation. "Blue Yonder Aviation". archive.org. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  2. Winters, Wayne. Airport History, 2001. Archived 2009-01-24 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved: 3 March 2009.
  3. Hunt, Adam. Merlin Magic. COPA Flight, February 2005, p. C-1.
  4. Hunt, Adam. Merlin Magic Revisited. COPA Flight, October 2005, page C-1.
  5. Hunt, Adam. Pilot Report: EZ Flyer. COPA Flight, May 2001, p. C-1.
  6. Vandermeullen, Richard: 2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 46. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  7. Proprius Solutions (2019). "C-IJKV Canadian Aircraft Registration Details". regosearch.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  8. Transport Canada (20 November 2019). "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register". Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  9. Armstrong, Kenneth. Choosing Your Homebuilt - the one you will finish and fly! Second Edition. Goleta, CA: Butterfield Press, 1993, pp. 195–201. ISBN 0-932579-26-4.
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