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In 2004 while visiting family in Poland, Waldemar Wrona of Rainbow Sport Aviation took a flight with an old friend in a 3X55 Trainer. After the flight he decided to visit the plant. He was very impressed with the factory which employees over 30 people with an extensive background in composite construction, derived from over 50 years of glider production in Bielsko-Biala.
He was so impressed that he negotiated a deal with the factory to import the 3X55 Trainer into Canada as an Advanced Ultralight. As of 2006 all of the paperwork has been completed by the factory and with the assistance of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association of Canada the 3X55 Trainer can now be registered and flown in Canada under this category.
Waldemar expects to have the craft certified in the U.S. as a Light Sport Aircraft early in 2007. He is waiting for delivery to a customer in Illinois. Once the plane arrives, application then can be made for approval.
It took three weeks to get the first 3X55 Trainer from the factory in Poland to Canada. It arrived by boat in Montreal Quebec Canada inside a forty foot container. It then was shipped via truck to Rainbow Sport Aviations in Holland landing Ontario. The plane was then unloaded and the wings and tail section were installed onto the fuselage.
I met Waldemar several years ago at his base of operation in Holland Landing. It was a field that I was very familiar with since it was my home field for nearly 30 years until I moved to my own airpark about 5 miles north.
Waldemar made the trip to Airventure 2006 with the 3X55 Trainer, He demonstrated the craft daily during the LSA flying times, and came back to Canada with a number new customers and a list of potential buyers. To say the craft was well received would be an understatement.
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