CARTER AVIATION TECHNOLOGIES

The CarterCopter is the prototype aircraft of Carter Aviation Technologies (Carter). It is the technology demonstrator of Carter's Slowed Rotor/Compound (SR/C) Aircraft Technology and has been in flight-testing since 1998. This historic flight was the culmination of more than 12 years of research and development. According to Jay Carter, "This [reaching µ-1] has been our goal since we first began flight-testing in 1998. To prove our technology we needed to do something that no one else had ever done. We have had several setbacks, but no one on the team ever lost faith."

As the rotor rpm/tip speed is reduced (mu increases), the drag on the rotor decreases dramatically.

There has been some discussion of starting a sister company that would do manufacturing, or teaming with an existing manufacturer. Possible products would include kit aircraft, landing gear, and propellers. However, those discussions are still very preliminary, and there is no time line as to when it would happen.

Carter may partner with a company to manufacture aircraft using Carter technologies, while Carter continues primarily as a research and development company. Our main goal is to perfect the technology of slowing the rotor in flight and flying efficiently. Our original business plan was, once that goal had been met, to license the technology to experienced aircraft manufacturers. Let them do what they're good at - manufacturing, while we do what we're good at - research and development (mainly because we are small and willing to take product development risks). In addition to the slowed rotor concept, we have developed several other technologies that we also planned to license to manufacturers.

For any of our aircraft, we expect a kit version would become available before a certified version, since the certification process is time consuming. And since the 4-Place Prop version is the prototype that we're currently working on, it seems most likely that the 4-Place Kit Prop will be the first product available.

It's very difficult to say when the kits will be available. Substantial tooling and infrastructure still need to be completed before production can begin. This could be accelerated if there were enough interest/money, so we are accepting deposits from serious buyers to demonstrate the interest to manufacturers & investors and to allow customers to reserve production slots.

Prices will vary depending on the type and size of aircraft ordered. For an aircraft like our current 4-Place prototype, prices for a kit version would probably be comparable to other high performance single engine piston aircraft (Lancair, Velocity, etc.).

Carter Aviation Technologies has already attracted a team of first rate managers and advisors, and intends to continue searching for and hiring only the best. We strongly believe that a few top people are far more productive than many average employees, and that insistence on excellence is the key to our future success.