Czech aircraft designer and manufacturer Evektor-Aerotechnik, best known for a line of light piston singles, used last month’s EAA AirVenture show to begin promoting its new EV-55 twin turboprop. The unpressurized utility aircraft, partly financed by the Czech government, is priced at $1.7 million and is expected to sell as an alternative to turboprop singles such as the Cessna Caravan.

Powered by two PT6A-21 engines, the aircraft will cruise at 229 knots with a max load of 14 passengers. The aircraft will have a cabin that measures 14.8 feet long, 5.25 feet wide and 4.5 feet high and have a 44-cu-ft baggage capacity. Balanced field length–at both paved and unpaved runways– is projected to be 2,300 feet.

The EV-55 will also be available in a cargo or cargo/passenger configuration. The Czech Republic-based company is “setting up Evektor Aircraft in Canada to market and assemble all future aircraft models for the North and South American markets.”

Evektor-Aerotechnik anticipates FAA and EASA certification of the EV-55 twin turboprop by late 2008.