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all in aircraft, and in fact, my plane was missing a document from the FAA at first, so we went out the first day and did training in the owner’s plane. But it was great training nonetheless. The insurance required me to do fifty mentor hours, so we did nine hours in Bend, and then I had a mentor pilot to knock out the other forty-one hours with me the next week. It was a lot of flying,” he said.
“I did fifty hours of flying in about ten days. My mentor pilot formerly f lew the F-18 and had accomplished multiple combat tours. It was really intense training. He pushed me to my limits as a pilot and made me ex- ceptionally better. The speed of the plane at altitude is not an issue; it’s irrelevant when it comes to from a safety perspective. This is because you can slow down when you are com- ing into terminal areas, so you don’t have to come racing in like a jet. The airplane also has excellent handling characteristics at low speeds, so you can stay within your comfort envelope - even with its very efficient design.”
Just as the aircraft delivery and initial training events were a personal experience, VanTrojen reports that Epic’s customer service network is similarly focused on the pilot.
“The process of getting my plane was fantastic. Epic has great customer service, with continuous progress up- dates as my plane was being built. There was a slight delay in delivery, but it was to be expected and was not too long.”
“While jets are a bit quicker than the Epic, the maintenance costs are significantly higher. You can buy a used jet for less than a new Epic, but the annual costs are astronomically high comparatively. My plane’s first annual [inspection] was only about $20,000. It was up there [in Bend] for a considerable amount of time, though, because in the first year of production, they realized many little things needed to be corrected. They essentially gave me a new airplane after the inspection, which was great.”
Looking forward, VanTrojen only sees himself flying this plane well into the future since he feels there isn’t a better one on the market
today. The Epic is the perfect aircraft for his current mission. He enjoys an attractive advertised maximum range of 1,560 nautical miles, good runway performance, ample payload, and blistering speed.
“I do a ton of flying around the West Coast; California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Texas is also really easy. I also fly to Puerto Vallarta once a month for pleasure. I typically don’t fly the Epic to the East Coast because using the airlines is easier if I have to fly five or six hours. I’ve taken it as far as Seattle thus far.”
Overall, VanTrojen’s ownership journey thus far has been entirely positive. As with other changes the company has implemented, he pa- tiently awaits an important all-weather addition to the aircraft’s capability list.
“The only question now is when Epic will receive its FIKI (flight into known icing) certification. They are in testing with the FAA, and once ap- proved, the whole operational fleet gets certified. I would love to see that happen sometime this year.”
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April 2023 / TWIN & TURBINE • 29