Bushcaddy

Bushcaddy Aircraft Canada, usually just called Bushcaddy or BushCaddy, was a Canadian aircraft manufacturer based at the Cornwall Regional Airport in Summerstown, Ontario. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of kit aircraft.[1][2][3][4][5]

Bushcaddy International Inc
TypePrivate company
IndustryAerospace
FateOut of business
Founded1994
Defunct2020
Headquarters
Summerstown, Ontario
,
Canada
Key people
CEO: Tony Watkin
ProductsKit aircraft
ServicesAircraft manufacturing, maintenance, repairs
Number of employees
5 (2005)
Websitebushcaddy.com

By August 2020 the company website had been blanked and it is likely that the company is no longer in business.

History
Sean Gilmore, designer of the Bushcaddy L-162 Max and L-164.

The company started as a flight training operation called Club Aeronautique Delisle Incorporated (CADI), based in Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec. It was founded by Jean Eude Potvin who designed the CADI R-80 and put it into production as a kit aircraft in 1994. He went on to design and build the R-120 and L-160.[4]

Sean Gilmore and Marlene Gill started a flight training venture at Montréal/Saint-Lazare Aerodrome, operating a CADI R-80 aircraft. Impressed with the design they became distributors for Potvin, handling marketing outside of Quebec. In 1998 Potvin expressed a desire to retire and Gilmour and Gill bought CADI, including the rights to the R-80, R-120 and L-160 aircraft designs. They renamed the company Canadian Light Aircraft Sales and Service, commonly called CLASS. Between 1998 and 2001 Potvin still produced parts, as CLASS assumed production. Potvin retired in 2001.[4]

To preserve the CADI name the aircraft line was called BushCaddy, a play on the abbreviation and the meaning of one who carries. To expand production the company moved to larger accommodation at nearby Les Cedres, Quebec. By 2005 they had five employees with Gilmore doing the design and engineering work and Gill handling the marketing and financial aspects. Gilmore designed the Bushcaddy L-162 Max and L-164.[4]

In about 2010 Gilmore and Gill retired and sold the company to Tony Watkin, an Australian who relocated it to Lachute, Quebec and renamed it after the aircraft line itself, Bushcaddy International Inc.[5]

In November 2012 the company moved production to the Cornwall Regional Airport at Summerstown, Ontario and also accepted a contract with the airport to operate the UNICOM radio service.[6]

Aircraft
A CLASS R-80 Bush Caddy under construction at the CLASS factory in Les Cedres, Quebec, Canada.
Summary of aircraft built by CADI, CLASS and Bushcaddy
Model name First flight Number built Type
Bushcaddy R-80 1994 Two seat kit aircraft
Bushcaddy R-120 Two seat kit aircraft
Bushcaddy L-160 Two/three seat kit aircraft
Bushcaddy L-162 Max 2005 Two/four seat kit aircraft
Bushcaddy L-164 c2007 Four seat kit aircraft

References
  1. Vandermeullen, Richard: 2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 47. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  2. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 98. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
  3. Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04, page 179. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X
  4. Hunt, Adam: Elegant Utility - Flying the CLASS R-80 BushCaddy, Canadian Flight July 2005, page B-1. Canadian Owners and Pilots Association.
  5. Bushcaddy (2012). "About Us". Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  6. "BushCaddy". BushCaddy. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
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