New Zealand's Pacific Aerospace is set to open an assembly line for its P-750 XSTOL single-engine turbopop in Changzhou, China, Flight Global reported.

The Hamilton-based Pacific Aerospace has entered in a 50-50 partnership with Beijing Automotive to establish a final assembly base in China, Mark Crouch, Pacific's general manager, global sales, said.

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"China is proving a really popular market for the P-750, and we are struggling to keep up with demand."

The P-750 is powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 engine and could take off and land under 800 feet (244 meters). It also has a maximum speed of 315 km/h and a range of 2,190 km.

Pacific Aerospace's P-750 units in China will be assembled from kits provided by its headquarters in Hamilton, New Zealand. The first batch is expected to arrive within a couple of months in Changzhou, according to Crouch.

The assembly line will be used to produce extremely short take-off and landing type aircrafts for the Chinese market. Such planes, according to Crouch, have already discovered its "niche in very remote areas of the world where it can transport passengers and cargo into and out of the most isolated communities."

The move comes as Pacific Aerospace prepares to send its first Garmin G600 to Papua New Guinea to be used for medical evaluation services.

Pacific has already delivered 110 P-750 units since the first iteration of PAC 750XL, the eight-seat multimission type, was launched more than a decade ago. An additional 10 units are scheduled for delivery this year.   

TagsPacific Aerospace, china, Changzhou, P-750 planes, P-750 XSTOL aircraft, Beijing Automotive, AIRPLANES