Lancair International, one of the oldest kit-aircraft manufacturers, is restructuring its business and selling assets that it no longer needs while focusing on the more popular Evolution piston and turbine experimental amateur-built models. 

“As we have grown, our customer base has changed dramatically from the early days,” said director of business development Kevin Eldredge. The Evolution models are the company’s primary products, while the Lancair 360, IV, IVP and Legacy kits have seen declining interest from customers who want to buy a kit, take it home and build an airplane. The Evolution kits are built by customers at a builder-assistance facility, which provides assistance and tools and helps speed up the construction effort.

“We are separating into two organizations,” he explained. The primary and remaining business will be called Evolution Aircraft and will be responsible for all Evolution-related development and support. The sale will include all Lancair assets, which include intellectual property, the Lancair brand, the kit designs, parts, tooling and support for the roughly 1,200 airplanes flying and 2,000 kits sold. This also includes an opportunity to sell more Lancairs as military trainers. The Colombian military operates 26 and has ordered another 20. The entire Lancair business currently accounts for about 10 percent of the total revenue of Lancair International, according to Eldredge. The company told customers and Lancair Owners and Builders Organization members about its plans about a month ago. 

“For us, a couple of things have happened,” he said. “We didn’t just stop selling the 360, IV, IVP and Legacy because we wanted to do something else. People stopped buying them. We have to be evaluating where the market opportunities are. Twenty years ago there wasn’t any competition for Lancair. There’s nobody to compete with the Evolution, and we now want to focus on the best market for us.”

The company plans to sell the entire package of assets and will not split any out. Even at just 10 percent of revenue, the Lancair segment “is pretty profitable,” he said, “but it could be much more. It’s a substantial business with a great customer base.”

Meanwhile, the Evolution business is growing quickly, and the company needs the money from the sale of the assets to continue growing and serving customers. As of last week, 63 Evolutions are flying, and the company had sold kit number 78. Production is averaging one kit every three weeks, and Eldredge said he expects that to continue through the end of the year, then increase to one every two weeks next year.