The next step in bringing the Airplane Manufacturing Industry to Elizabethtown got a boost from the award of a $4.4-million-dollar grant.

In a letter received from North Carolina Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary Kenneth Flowers, the Town of Elizabethtown was awarded a Community Development Block Grant to erect a 40,736 square-foot publicly owned facility for aerospace manufacturing within the corporate airpark.

In February, the Governor of North Carolina announced that Bladen County would become the home to the fifth U.S owned general aviation aircraft manufacturer in the United States. According to Elizabethtown Town Manager Dane Rideout, this grant announcement is the next step in establishing the headquarters, manufacturing facility and maintenance operations for Vulcanair North America at the Elizabethtown Corporate Airpark located at the Curtis L. Brown, Jr. Airfield (KEYF).  Vulcanair North America will begin producing the Vulcanair V1.0 aircraft, which has been in production in Italy since the late 1960’s.

“We are grateful for the continued confidence in our vision for the Elizabethtown Industrial Park and Airpark that Secretary Flowers and the North Carolina Department of Commerce have shown with this grant award,” Sylvia Campbell, mayor of Elizabethtown said in a press release. Mayor Campbell said the Town Council is enthusiastic about the potential economic boost for the town, foreseeing increased job opportunities with sustainable wages for residents. She highlighted that new business growth and aerospace-related jobs will contribute significantly to community-wide enhancements.

According to Ken Hadaway, COO of Sovereign Aerospace-Bladen, the Vulcanair V1.0 aircraft is a small general aviation, four-seat trainer aircraft specifically used by flight schools and private businesses. Hadaway explained that the Vulcanair V1.0 aircraft is currently being built in Italy, but demand in the United States has resulted in a need to assist with production by establishing a manufacturing facility at the Elizabethtown Corporate Airpark. Hadaway said that currently, Ameravia, Inc. has 26 Vulcanair V1.0 aircraft on order and with the manufacturing facility in Elizabethtown, will have the capability of producing 96 aircraft per year with a total cost at delivery for each aircraft around $450,000.

Hadaway also noted that the manufacturing facility will ultimately create over 100 jobs with an average salary of $56,061 in areas like manufacturing, warehouse receiver & dispatch, A&P mechanics, structural technicians, avionics installers, Aircraft Inspectors (IA), sales, entry-level apprenticeship to engineers, pilots and others.

This facility will serve dual purposes and be the first in the United States to be the showroom and full-service maintenance center for Vulcanair aircraft. It will attract current owners, for service and updates as needed, and first-time buyers excited about the training capacity of the Vulcanair V1.0, as well as those interested in learning more about the Vulcanair V1.0 aircraft.

The Town has issued an RFQ for design-build services for the facility and expects to award the contract at their October Town Council Meeting. The new facility is expected to be completed and operational by the 2nd Quarter of 2025.