The ongoing nature of COVID-19 and its impact on businesses globally, and in particular, the shut down of several of our major component suppliers, has continued to cause delays in the fabrication of components for our prototype engine in the past quarter. This has subsequently caused delays in assembly and first runs. However, some suppliers are now operational and as such some progress is now being made.
We had initially targeted to have the prototype running on the test stand by end of Q3 2020. We now anticipate that this milestone event will occur following reactivation of our remaining external component suppliers.
While the impact of factors outside our control has caused delays in the technical program, we are pleased with the work that has been achieved over the past quarter.
Notwithstanding the current challenges, our technical team has been making good progress with the detailed design of the launch engine which is now substantially complete. Associated with this is the completion of a ground-breaking design for our unique fuel-saving technology, the recuperator. A test segment of this design has been 3D printed by our prototyping partner and our technical team has assembled the test rig to test this prototype component. It is our expectation that this testing will occur during Q4 2020 and the results will be available to validate our theoretical design calculations. This will be a significant milestone for TurbAero and the development of our 200hp turbine engine and we are looking forward to sharing the video of this testing with our customers once it is available. To read the September 2020 technical program update click here.
As you are aware from recent updates, our new website has now been rolled out. This is a significant step in the implementation of our interaction with our customers particularly in light of the cancellation of the two major global air shows, EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh and Sun & Fun in Florida due to COVID-19. The cancellation of these in 2020 has not stymied our desire to take our engine to the major airshows when it's ready, and like you, we await the 2021 season with anticipation and excitement.
While recognising the delays due to COVID-19, we are very pleased with our progress over the past quarter. This is a real testament to the quality and dedication of our team, all of whom have embraced the challenges, and shown initiative, flexibility and resourcefulness under difficult circumstances. We are very thankful to them for their efforts and their continued passion to aim to deliver to our TurbAero customers a truly exceptional engine.
As always, safe flying.
Dave Limmer
TurbAero.
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