User:MaryGaulke/sandbox/Epic Aircraft requests

Hi! I'm a COI editor for Epic, here with some requests for this article. My colleague and I have also created a mockup of these requests implemented in the article.

Lead

 * Update the title parameter of the infobox to "Epic Aircraft, LLC", the company's legal name. I believe the first sentence of the lead should also include the legal name, per MOS:FIRST.
 * In the infobox, update
 * parent = S7 Technics
 * to
 * parent = MVF Key Investments Ltd.


 * In the first sentence, update
 * owned by the Russian company S7 Technics.
 * to
 * owned by the Cyprus-based company MVF Key Investments Ltd.


 * In the second sentence, update "Epic E1000" to "Epic E1000 GX", per article body updates below.

History

 * Image updates:
 * Update the caption "Epic LT single turboprop aircraft" to "Epic LT experimental single turboprop aircraft".
 * Move the E1000 to the bottom, since it's the most recent aircraft.
 * I think it might make sense to organize this section a bit more thematically, rather than as a strict chronology with subsections for each year. For instance, the first section could be "2004–2009: Early years", the second could be "Reorganization and acquisition by Engineering LLC", and the third could be "2015–present: E1000 era".
 * In "2004", update
 * The company was founded in 2004 and located in Bend, Oregon
 * to
 * The company was founded in 2004 by Rick Schrameck, a veteran of the computer hardware and aviation composites industries, and located in Bend, Oregon,


 * Add after "2004":
 * Epic’s first aircraft, the LT, was positioned as a homebuilt kit aircraft, and Schrameck claimed deliveries were estimated to begin by year’s end 2005. The FAA approved the LT as an amateur-built craft in 2006, the same year that the first LT was delivered.


 * Under "2009", update:
 * The case went to court in 2013 and ended "without an award of costs, disbursements or attorney’s fees to any party".
 * to
 * The case was dismissed in 2013 and ended "without an award of costs, disbursements or attorney’s fees to any party".
 * Per the source: "A federal lawsuit filed against Epic Air in 2009 was dismissed in 2013, without an award of costs, disbursements or attorney’s fees to any party, federal court records show."


 * Also under "2009", update:
 * In late June 2009 the company dramatically scaled back its operations. The lay-offs primarily affected the aircraft build center, where customers worked on their own kits.
 * to
 * In late June 2009 the company dramatically scaled back its operations. The lay-offs primarily affected the aircraft's owner-assisted build center, where customers worked on their own kits.


 * Also in the "2009" subsection, these three paragraphs seem WP:UNDUE in detail, given that they're citing only one secondary source and four primary sources:
 * Several additional lawsuits were filed against Epic. These included "serious allegations about the conduct of company principals". In a sworn statement Chief Financial Officer David Clark said that Epic owed its customer builders an estimated US$15 million for parts and that the company had no money to pay those debts. Also in his sworn statement Clark alleged many financial irregularities and that company financial reports and practices "did not comply with generally accepted accounting practices". Other sworn statements by Clark and General Manager David Hice alleged that the company was a "chaotic financial environment over which CEO Rick Schrameck ruled exclusively". Hice further alleged many financial irregularities, including that the company missed its payroll in July 2004 and was only able to pay its staff using customer aircraft deposits from sales at AirVenture that same month. Hice also alleged that "On June 16th, 2009 I was terminated after Rick Schrameck physically attacked me."


 * In September 2009 CEO Rick Schrameck was removed by the board of directors from any "managerial or supervisory capacity" with Epic parent company Aircraft Investor Resources, and the company voluntarily entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking to reorganize, find investors and continue kitplane production on a reduced scale.


 * As a result of the bankruptcy filing customers with aircraft under construction at the company facility were permitted to remove their aircraft and parts.
 * I propose rewriting the above to stick to what's covered in the AVWeb source, as well as a few other independent sources I dug up:
 * In September 2009 CEO Schrameck was removed by the board of directors from any "managerial or supervisory capacity" with Epic parent company Aircraft Investor Resources, and the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy.


 * Epic LT owner Doug King filed a motion requesting that the bankruptcy proceedings be moved from Nevada to Bend. That filing included a sworn statement by Chief Financial Officer David Clark, saying that Epic owed its customer builders an estimated US$15 million for parts and that the company had no money to pay those debts.


 * Given that 2009 marked the end of Schrameck's leadership of Epic, I propose moving the content about him in the 2015 and 2018 sections after the first paragraph above (immediately following "...and the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy.") (using the "Withycombe" ref already in use in the article). I also tightened up the copy a bit (very open to feedback on this) and fixed a few "Schramek" misspellings:
 * Due to his actions at Epic, Schrameck was arrested for fraud in March 2015. On 27 March 2015, he pleaded not guilty in US District Court to eight counts of wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering regarding his dealings with Epic and its customers. The case alleged that Schrameck deliberately defrauded customers of more than US$14 million. In April 2018, Schrameck pleaded "guilty" to one count of wire fraud. The Department of Justice, US Attorney's Office, District of Oregon stated, "Schrameck gave customers Airframe Purchase Agreements and Aircraft Completion Assistance Agreements that misrepresented how the customers’ funds were being used. Without his customers’ knowledge, Schrameck used the funds for other projects, to complete existing Epic LT aircraft, and to support his own lavish lifestyle."


 * I think it would be helpful to add a transition sentence to the beginning of "2010":
 * Following the bankruptcy filing, Epic went up for sale.


 * In "2010", update
 * On 2 April 2010 the judge issued a judgement ordering China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. Ltd. to form a partnership with the LT Builders Group allowing the latter to run the Bend plant.
 * to
 * On 2 April 2010 the judge issued a judgement ordering China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. Ltd. to make an agreement with the LT Builders Group to acquire Epic's assets.
 * This is more accurate to the source.


 * In "2010", update and flesh out
 * The deal was completed by 11 April 2010, with the LT Builders Group agreeing to run the plant and market to North America, while the Chinese company would market to the rest of the world.
 * to
 * The deal came about following public concern about why a state-owned Chinese aerospace company would take interest in Epic, although the primary theories were that the Chinese firm was interested in acquiring Epic's designs or the carbon-fiber composites used in Epic's aircraft. Due to potential concerns, the final deal excluded any defense-related material potentially subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations from the purchase. The deal was completed by 11 April 2010, with the LT Builders Group taking control of the company and marketing the Epic LT to North America, while the Chinese company obtained rights to market the Epic LT to the rest of the world.
 * Per the cited sources, this agreement was specific to the LT. I'm also not sure why "LT Builders Group" is italicized, so we may want to remove the italics.


 * Also in "2010", update
 * Doug King became CEO, as an unpaid volunteer in 2010, following the bankruptcy. King had an incomplete LT in the plant
 * to
 * Doug King, CEO of the LT Builders Group, became CEO of Epic as an unpaid volunteer in 2010. King, who had owned several transaction processing and computer services businesses and had revitalized operations of Syncro Aircraft, had an incomplete LT in the plant


 * In "2012", add ref and revise:
 * Filev's company, Engineering LLC
 * to
 * Engineering LLC,


 * Also in "2012", update "Cessna owns" to "Cessna owned".
 * In "2013", delete:
 * Filev had his own, personal Epic LT delivered from Bend, Oregon, to Moscow by King in August 2013, delivering it for Filev's 50th birthday.
 * This doesn't really feel notable or germane to the article, in my opinion.


 * In "2014", delete:
 * By 2014 the company was engaged in certification of the Epic E1000 and had purchased the former Cessna 204000 sqft facility in Bend, Oregon that had once produced the Columbia Aircraft line.
 * This is cited only to a press release, and it's redundant of the information under "2012" (when the Bend purchase was finalized).


 * Add:
 * In 2016, Epic held the "Epic Odyssey World Tour", in which six Epic LTs circumnavigated the world in 21 days, stopping in 21 cities after departing from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.


 * In "2018", delete
 * The company had intended to outsource production of some composite material parts, but encountered issues with quality, meeting specification and timeliness or deliveries. As a result, they decided to produce all 587 composite parts for the E1000 in-house.
 * This is more detail than is notable, in my opinion.
 * for conciseness/clarity, using "George" ref name already in use in article.


 * In "2019", update
 * On 31 March 2019 Filev's wife, Natalia Fileva, was killed in the crash of an Epic LT on approach to the Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport. Fileva was one of the wealthiest women in Russia and co-owner of S7 Airlines, with her husband. Also killed in the crash was her father and the pilot. Fileva was on her way to Frankfurt for medical treatment.
 * to
 * On 31 March 2019 Filev's wife, Natalia Fileva, was killed in the crash of an Epic LT on approach to the Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport. Fileva was one of the wealthiest women in Russia and co-owner of S7 Airlines, with her husband. Her father and the pilot were also killed in the crash. The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation found in its investigation that on approach, the plane had made a 30–45 degree left-sided bank turn. Kommersant reported that the cause of the crash was pilot error, likely a pilot-induced stall.
 * It also may make sense to move this information from this article into Epic LT (where it's already partially covered). From what I can tell, crashes and incidents are usually part of the articles for individual planes, but not their manufacturers (cf. Cirrus Aircraft vs. Cirrus SR22, Cessna vs. Cessna Citation Excel).


 * Also in "2019", update
 * After certification the company indicated that it intends to ramp up production to one aircraft every three weeks by the second half of 2020 and earn its production certificate, so each individual aircraft will not require FAA inspection prior to delivery. This will be followed by one aircraft every two weeks by the first half of 2021 and work towards one aircraft a week. The goal is to ultimately produce 50 aircraft per year.
 * to
 * After certification the company indicated that it intends to ramp up production to one aircraft every three weeks by the second half of 2020, then one aircraft every two weeks by the first half of 2021, and ultimately produce 50 aircraft per year.


 * In "2020", update
 * The first two E1000s were delivered to customers at the end of May 2020.
 * to
 * The company announced in May 2020 that the first two E1000s had been delivered to customers.
 * (The first delivery actually occurred a bit earlier, but this isn't detailed in the source.)


 * Add to the end of the first paragraph of "2020":
 * In July 2020, Epic earned FAA production certification for the E1000, allowing the company to to build, test, and approve aircraft with less FAA oversight.


 * Add to end of "2020":
 * Also in July 2020, the E1000 won Flying magazine's 2020 Innovation Award. Flying's editor-in-chief Julie Boatman applauded Epic for beginning aircraft deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plane & Pilot magazine named the E1000 its 2020 plane of the year, citing its powerful engine, range, and design. That December, Epic and ATP, an aircraft software company, announced a partnership for tracking maintenance and distributing technical publications.


 * Add to end of section:
 * In July 2021, Epic announced that its next-generation version of the E1000, the E1000 GX, had received its FAA type certificate. The E1000 GX includes integration with Garmin's GFC 700 autopilot system and a Hartzell 5-blade composite propeller. By the end of July, Epic had announced an expansion to its service network with a Fort Worth-based maintenance station, bringing its service network to three facilities in the United States. By Q3 of 2021, Epic had delivered six E1000 GX aircraft, with another 4 delivered by the end of Q4. Epic's stated goal is to complete 20 planes in 2022, and up to 40 in 2023. As a part of increasing production capacity, Epic hired 175 additional staff between July and December of 2021, with many of the new staff working in composite part fabrication.

Aircraft

 * It may be more standard to name this section "Products". I also think it could make sense for this section to precede "History".
 * Using existing ref name, update the section text from
 * LT is a 6-place kit-built turbo-prop airplane.
 * Victory was a proposed single-engine jet project, with only a prototype completed. The company has not pursued development.
 * E1000 is a type certified six-place turbo-prop airplane.
 * Escape was a proposed 92% scaled version of the Epic LT, with 4-5 seats. The company has not pursued development.
 * Elite was an proposed twin-engine jet project, initially intended as a kit aircraft, which the company had planned to certify later. It was to utilize an LT fuselage with cosmetic and structural changes. Only a prototype has been completed. The company has not pursued development.
 * to
 * The LT is a 6-place kit-built turbo-prop airplane, later replaced by the E1000.
 * The Victory was a proposed single-engine jet project in 2007.
 * The E1000 is a type certified six-place turbo-prop airplane. It is the type-certified, manufactured version of the Epic LT.
 * The Escape was a proposed 92% scaled version of the Epic LT in 2007, with 4 to 6 seats.
 * The Elite was a proposed twin-engine jet project, initially intended as a kit aircraft in 2008.
 * The E1000 GX is a type certified single turbo-prop airplane based on the E1000. The E1000 GX replaced the E1000 as the only product Epic Aircraft is manufacturing.