Vijay Mallya and Epic Aircraft: Buying a stake or a plane?

Kingfisher Airlines chairman and CEO Dr Vijay Mallya flew into Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture airshow on his personal Airbus A320 and made an appearance with Epic Aircraft president and CEO Rick Schrameck during a press conference.

Mallya sealed a deal with Schrameck, investing a significant amount of money into EA, but the details of the deal were not made public. Schrameck is expected to make a major announcement providing more details regarding Mallya's investment during the National Business Aviation Association's 60th Annual Meeting and Convention, in Atlanta, Georgia, from 25 to 27 September.

"This is one more validation that Epic Aircraft's products are quality," Schrameck said. Schrameck kept his promise to debut both the Elite and Victory very light jets during at Oshkosh.

Epic's Dynasty, which is currently undergoing certification in Canada, also made the trip. The Dynasty is the company's kit aircraft version of the popular Epic LT turboprop. EA said it had obtained $40 million in new aircraft orders during the Oshkosh event.

On 23 July, EA announced that Pratt & Whitney Canada's (P&WC) PW617 engine will power the certified version of the single-engine Victory; the PW615 will power the kit aircraft version. P&WC's PT6A-67 will power EA's certified Dynasty and the twin-engine Elite VLJ will continue to use Williams International engines.