Yingling Aviation to expand remanufacturing program
Following on the heels of Nextant Inc. in Cleveland Ohio, another US based company, Yingling Aviation, is strengthening it’s focus on the airplane remanufacturing business. The company has announced that it plans to remanufacture more than older Cessna 172s.
The fixed base operator announced July 20 that it would produce the Ascend 172, a completely restored or remanufactured Cessna 172. The company has rebuilt two 172s and is working on a third at its site at Wichita Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas.
Yingling CEO Lynn Nichols has more aircraft in mind, however. He is looking at remanufacturing Cessna 182s and 210s, Piper Archers and Cherokees and Beech Bonanzas, Aviation Week writes. The company also would take an owner’s 172 and remanufacture it to the same level as the Ascend 172, Nichols said.
Yingling chose 172s because more than 40,000 have been produced. It also is a Cessna parts dealer.
The company is taking 172N aircraft built from 1976 to 1982, disassembling them and stripping them down to the bare metal to inspect and look for corrosion. Then Yingling replaces old parts and wiring with new, overhauls the engine, propeller and landing gear, adds new gauges, navigation systems and analog flight instruments, new tires and brakes, upgrades the interior, restyles the seats and repaints the aircraft. The initial base price is $159,900.
