Found finds niche in Parry Sound.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: Parry Sound

PARRY SOUND -- It is regarded as one of the most rugged and dependable light aircraft on the market. And despite a consumer downturn in the aviation industry, Found Aircraft believes its successful Bush Hawk design will keep the aircraft manufacturer flying amidst uncrowded skies for years to come.

The 80-employee Parry Sound company has carved out a special niche for itself as the only dedicated manufacturer of bush planes in the world.

Andrew Hamblin, Found Aircraft's director of marketing and sales, scans the tarmac at their home base at Parry Sound Area Municipal Airport pointing out one bright yellow Bush Hawk-XP on floats that is destined for a Fairbanks, Alaska camp owner.

Others in various stages of construction are earmarked. for customers in Thunder Bay, Toronto, Seattle and the West Coast.

Found occupies two hangars at the airport used for assembly and modifications, almost a stone's throw from the new Highway 69 alignment.

Well-known among veteran bush pilots and aviation enthusiasts, the resurrected Bush Hawk design has emerged from relative obscurity to challenge the popular Cessna 206.

In the early to mid 1960s, only 26 were ever built. But it gained a reputation as a backcountry workhorse on wheels, skis or floats.

The original brainchild of Nathan "Bud" Found, the company's reins was turned over to Andrew's father, Tony Hamblin in 2000.

Since reviving the company in 1996, Found adopted a gradual and methodical approach to growing the company; they will only build 12 planes this year, but they stay aggressive on the marketing end.

Their demonstrator aircraft has crisscrossed the continent a number of times, flying into air shows and remote bush camps from Florida to Alaska.

"We're not front-heavy in financing and we're not making the mistake of scaling up too quickly," says Hamblin.

About 60 per cent of their Bush Hawk-XP's wind up in the U.S., mostly in Alaska, although they have taken orders and inquiries from the Bahamas, Fiji and the West Coast.

Last fall, Found delivered its first U.S. registered Bush Hawk-XP to the United States Department of the Interior in Anchorage, Alaska with further discussions underway for another plane.

Their targetted customer base includes government agencies such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, fish and hunt camp operators, and the more affluent outdoorsmen.

"The U.S. is a virtually untapped market. They have little knowledge of the plane's history and characteristics," says Hamblin.

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