By Charles Alcock • Managing Editor

Draco Aircraft has launched a funding round aiming to raise around $4.5 million to step up its work to bring what it calls a hyper short takeoff and landing model to market in 2028. The Polish-U.S. start-up’s plans are based on the out-of-production PZL-104 Wilga aircraft, which U.S. entrepreneur and engineer Mike Patey has already modified.

The four-seat Draco promises a takeoff distance of just under 100 feet, with a stall speed of only 38 knots and a climb speed of 4,000-feet-per-minute. It will be powered by a single Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop and a 102-inch five-blade MT propeller.

It is now more than six years since Patey introduced his re-working of the Wilga at the 2018 EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. In September, Draco acquired all intellectual property for the design, along with its original type certificate and tooling from Airbus Poland, solidifying its plans to reinvent the model which has been out of production since 2006.

Patey has endorsed Draco’s plans to commercialize his version of the Wilga. The company, which was founded in 2023, is led by Johannes von Thadden, who was formerly CEO of Airbus Poland. Its chief engineering advisor is Tomasz Wolf, who was the Wilga’s former head of design with Airbus Poland, which was founded in 1928 as PZL Warszawa-Okęcie and became part of the Airbus group in 2001.

Draco will combine the original Wilga design with Patey’s modifications to apply for Part 23 type certification with EASA and the FAA. Further adaptation and integration will be supported by the Polish Institute of Aviation.

Made in Poland
According to von Thadden, manufacturing of the Draco is likely to be based in Poland, which he said still has somewhat lower costs than other parts of Europe. Final assembly for the North American market could happen in the U.S., perhaps at a new aviation business park being developed by Patey and his partners at Spanish Fork-Springville Airport in Utah.

The seed investment now being raised could support an application for European Union technology developing funding for start-ups in Central and Eastern Europe. With the support of the Polish Institute of Aviation, von Thadden said this would be sufficient to support work through the end of 2027, at which point it aims to have a production-conforming prototype built.

The initial turboprop-powered powered version of the Draco, which is derived from the Latin word for dragon, is expected to have a range of around 900 nm. In the longer term, the company aspires to producing an electric-powered “Green Draco.”

This part of the plan is being deferred while electric propulsion technology makes further progress. “Electric flying isn’t where customers want it to be yet, with range of only around 300 kilometers [163 nm],” said von Thadden. “We do have an electric engine in mind, but the priority is fulfilling the basic promise of getting people where the want to go.”

Draco expects the aircraft to find favor for both private and commercial use, as well as for parapublic missions such as border patrols and military roles such as light attack and rapid intervention. Its exceptional STOL performance means it could serve as an alternative not only to other light fixed-wing aircraft, but also to helicopters and drones.

More: https://www.pilootenvliegtuig.nl/magazine/piloot-en-vliegtuig-editie-11-2024/