Reborn Warrior makes first flight

VIDEO Reborn Aviation has made the first flight of its ‘remanufactured’ Piper Warrior. The aircraft, originally a 1974 PA-28-151, flew at Reborn’s base at Thruxton Airport on 22 March with company founder Edmund Hewertson at the controls.

The aircraft has been completely rebuilt to Reborn’s revised spec which includes:

• A brand new Garmin G500-based glass cockpit mounted on a new panel
• Other instruments include a JP900 EDM engine monitor which does away with several other instruments, copper piping and ‘dodgy fuel gauges’
• Powered iPad mini-port
• New or overhauled engine
• Aerodynamic tweaks which add 6-8kt to cruise speed (or a lower power setting for the same speed)
• LED exterior lighting.

Most importantly, the airframe has been completely stripped, inside and out. The cabin has been re-upholstered with washable synthetic leather, seats refurbished, and the cardboard sidepanels replaced with noise absorbing ABS panels.

Outside, the airframe is taken back to bare metal and resprayed, first with an anti-corrosion primer, then finished in Reborn’s trademark silver. Every mechanical component is checked, overhauled or replaced as necessary, cleaned and resprayed.

Reborn is planning to sell the re-manufactured aircraft for around £130,000, although the price depends on avionics spec. Most likely customers are flight schools looking for a glass cockpit-equipped four-seat aircraft for both training and self-fly hire. Reborn’s Hewertson reports interest from as far away as Pakistan.

Reborn Aviation