In 1952, Aero Mercantil of Bogota, Colombia, became a dealer for Piper Aircraft, later selling a range of Piper aircraft assembled from kits by Aero Industrial Colombiana SA, also in Bogota. In 1986, it started development of a single-engined utility aircraft, suitable for production in Colombia. The resultant design, the Gavilán, is a simple high-winged monoplane of all-metal construction. It has a boxlike, square-section fuselage that accommodates a pilot and up to seven passengers, with access through two doors on either side of the cockpit and a large cargo door on the left side of the fuselage. The passenger seats can be removed to allow carriage of cargo, including a full-sized coffin. It is fitted with a fixed tricycle undercarriage designed to withstand continued operations from rough South American airstrips. It is powered by a 350 hp Lycoming TIO-540-W2A engine, turbocharged to give sufficient power at Colombia's high altitudes. The first prototype Gavilán made its first flight on 27 April 1990, testing resulting in lengthening of the forward fuselage and modifications to the wing. It was badly damaged in a crash landing due to engine failure in 1992, however, delaying certification and production, with the second prototype not flying until 29 May 1996. The Gavilán received its type certificate under US FAR part 23 regulations in May 1998. In 2012, Cub Crafters bought from John Bryerton of GATS the Prototype.
Operational history
Deliveries to customers started in 1998, with the first of twelve Gaviláns ordered by the Colombian Air Force being delivered on 25 June that year. El Gavilan SA, of Colombia, was pushing to sell 32 Gavilan 358's to the South African Air Force in April 1998. El Gavilán had received orders for 19 aircraft by November 1999, but it is unclear whether all of these were built, with Flightglobal estimating in 2008 that only about twelve Gaviláns had been completed. At least four of the Colombian Air Force's Gaviláns were still in use in 2004. The Gavilán was retired in the Colombian Air Force in 2007.
Variants
G358 – standard version
* G358M – Military version with weapons mountable in the rear doors in the gunship configuration.
G508T – Turboprop-powered version with 500 hp turboprop, under development.
* G508M – Military version of the turboprop version
