New Zealand company Pacific Aerospace has won a $US13 million order for five skydive aircraft to a Chinese government sports agency.
The tender represents the largest single P-750 XSTOL aircraft order, and the company says it signals the huge potential of the company's joint venture in China.
Pacific Aerospace has a partnership with Beijing General Aviation Company to assemble plane parts manufactured at its Hamilton base in China.
Pacific Aerospace chief executive Damian Camp said when the joint venture was launched last year, it was with an eye to harness the potential of China's rapidly expanding general aviation market.
''This is another indicator for us of the potential of this market," Camp enthuses. "We haven't even begun assembling in China-our factory is being commissioned as we speak-and we've already locked in our largest standalone order of P-750 aircraft to-date, anywhere in the world."