AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2024 - 57

SPEC SHEET
Epic E1000GX
Price / $4.75 million to $4.9 million
FAA certification of the E1000 design. Filev owns S7
Airlines in Russia as well as other international firms.
A Filev subsidiary, Engineering LLC, bought Epic in
2012 and started an FAA certification program that
finally concluded in 2019 after seven years and many
millions of dollars in expenditures. Epic was awarded
an FAA production certificate in 2020 and expanded
its staff to the current level of more than 450 workers.
The Filev family now owns the company through
a Cyprus-based firm. .
There's been tragedy along the way, too. Filev's
View the video
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aug24
wife, Natalia; her father; and a Russian pilot were
killed in the crash of an experimental-category Epic
LT in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2019. German officials
attributed it to pilot error resulting in a loss of aircraft
control. About 50 Epics were built and licensed
under the experimental category, and 59 have been
manufactured as certified aircraft since then.
An absolute blast
In the increasingly competitive single-engine, sixseat
turboprop category, the Epic E1000 GX is a
showstopper. It's bigger, faster, and flies higher
than its competitors while providing superior
cabin comfort. It'll appeal to wealthy individuals
for personal use and corporate flight departments
for executive travel.
From a pilot's standpoint, the Epic cockpit is
more logically laid out than any of its rivals; its handling
qualities and performance are superlative, and
its modern materials and thoughtful design inspire
confidence. A pilot feels physically and spiritually
connected to this airplane almost instantly, and that
sublime master-of-the-universe sensation surely
grows with familiarity. The airplane is a wonder-
and a blast to fly.
Common-sense upgrades in future models that
can make it even better include a Garmin G3000
avionics suite to replace the current G1000NXi system
and perhaps Autoland to match Piper's M700
Powerplant / PT6A-67A, 1,200 shp
Propeller / Hartzell 5-blade composite
Length / 35 ft 10 in
Height / 12 ft 6 in
Wingspan / 43 ft
Seats / 6
Cabin width / 4 ft 7 in
Useful load / 2,860 lb
Payload w/ full fuel / 1,100 lb
Fuel capacity / 264 gal
Takeoff distance over 50-ft obstacle / 2,254 ft
Best rate of climb at sea level / 4,000 fpm
Normal cruise / 317 KTAS
Max range / 1,560 nm
Max operating altitude / 34,000 ft
Landing distance over 50-ft obstacle /
2,399 ft
All specifications are based on manufacturer's
calculations. All performance figures
are based on standard day, standard atmosphere,
sea level, gross weight conditions
unless otherwise noted.
Fury and Daher's TBM 900 series. Those
aren't original ideas-Epic's rivals have
already adopted them.
Yet Epic's ownership is problematic.
So far, under the Filevs' ownership the
company has paid U.S. salaries, modernized
an Oregon manufacturing plant,
and created hundreds of American jobs.
But Russia's invasion of Ukraine, awful
and still deteriorating bilateral relations,
and deepening financial sanctions
against Vladamir Putin's regime and its
enablers can't help but cast a shadow
over Epic.
I spoke with a recent Epic buyer who
is thrilled with the fit and finish of his
airplane, the factory training he received,
the technical support his airplane gets
at one of a dozen U.S. service centers,
and the stellar performance his aircraft
delivers. He's a career professional pilot
who researched every aspect of his new
aircraft-except its ties to Russia. When
informed, he considered those aspects
for a moment and quickly made his peace
with it.
" If the devil himself was selling Epics,
I'd still want one, " he said, " The airplane
is just that good. "
aopa.org
dave.hirschman@
AOPA PILOT / August 2024
57
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2024

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