CFM AIRBORNE (UK) LTD

Cook Flying Machines (trading as CFM MetalFax Ltd) went into receivership during 1996; assets were purchased from the liquidator by a small group of investors and the company was relaunched as CFM Aircraft Ltd, to manufacture and market the Shadow series of microlights and Streak/Star Streak light aircraft in kitbuilt and production versions as described below. By June 2001, 397 CFM ultralights had been delivered to customers in 40 countries. In 1999, CFM secured what was then the world's largest ultralight order when the Indian Air Force contracted for 24 Streak Shadows, of which 18 had been delivered by June 2001.
Workforce was 7 in 2001, with annual production capacity of 12 to 18 assembled aircraft, and a similar number of kits, at the company's 465 m² (5,000 sq ft) factory at Leiston. Flight testing undertaken at Parham (Framlingham), to which all company operations were scheduled to relocate in the summer of 2001.
However, in mid-2002 CFM went into receivership. Assets acquired by Airborne Innovations LLC (10 NASA Road One, Suite 209, Webster, Texas 77598), which had earlier purchased Laron Aviation Technologies, the former US distributor of CFM. UK production was due to have restarted in early 2003 but Civil Aviation Authority certification of the new company was still proceeding in the middle of that year.