TeST spol sro

The company TeST was established in 1992 by three enthusiastic, experienced glider pilots. Their initial goal was to design and manufacture ultralight motor gliders and ultralight aircraft.

During the few first years, production was carried out in a hangar in Križanov. The firm designed its first wooden ultralight glider, the TST-1 Alpin, and tested the prototype in 1993. Despite gliding parameters that could bring smiles today, the glider demonstrated a couple of interesting performance feats – e.g. several 300 km FAI triangles and even a 500 km FAI triangle.

The company rented new production facilities in Velké Mezirící in 1995 and production capacity grew to 10 aircraft a year. The development and production of new aircraft then continued, featuring mostly wooden construction:

- TST-7 JUNIOR more or less an ALPIN with the engine mounted in the front and a fixed three-wheel undercarraige (1995)
- TST-6 DUO, two seat motor glider similar to the JUNIOR (1996)
- TST-5 VARIANT, an alternative to the DUO with shorter wings (1996)
- TST-3 ALPIN T, a significantly upgraded ALPIN, also supplied with a retractable engine (TST-3 ALPIN TM). This aircraft flew several 500 km FAI triangles - in gliding mode (1998).

In September 1998, TeST moved to larger facilities in Velká Bíteš allowing production to increase to 25 aircraft a year. The development of new types continued:

- TST-8 ALPIN DM, a new tandem two seater with a retractable engine (1999)
- TST-9 JUNIOR, a modernized TST-7 with an elliptical fuselage and T-shaped tailplanes (2000)
- TST-3 TL, a new lighter version of the TST-3 T; its pilot broke a series of records in cross-country flights in the 220 kg flying weight category (2001).

In order to satisfy increased demand, the company moved again in November 2002, this time to its new facilities in Velké Mezirící. Development activity began to focus mainly on composite technology. The following aircraft were designed:

- TST-10 ATLAS M, the first two seater made of composites with a retractable engine opened the new era of technologies based on carbon fiber - also supplied as the motorless TST-10 ATLAS (2002).
- TST-12, a tandem low-wing plane combining modern features and traditional wooden construction (flown in summer of 2004; built as a prototype only)
- TST-13 JUNIOR 2005, an all-composite successor to the TST-9; span of 15 m
- TST-14 BONUS M, a tandem all-composite two seater; production commenced in 2004 TST-14 BONUS.

The newly designed aircraft - the TST-10 ATLAS, TST-13 JUNIOR and TST-14 BONUS – formed the core of the 2009 production program and have brought a great deal of commercial success.

The original wooden construction was replaced by composite technology in 2002. Detraction and retraction of the engine is fully automatic and controlled by an electronic device.

The development and design of the new aircraft is in cooperation with experts from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the VUT University of Technology in Brno and the Light Aircraft Association (LAA CR), which helps to increase the quality and safety of newly designed aircraft.

The aircraft are designed to meet existing and anticipated standards and regulations in the overall UL category - maximum flying weight of 300 kg (or 322 kg during BRS use) for single seaters or 450 kg (or 472 kg during BRS use) for two seaters. The minimum speed is always under the 65 km/h limit, often conforming to even stricter standards (JAR-22).

2009: K Libusi 4/24
Praque 4 148 00
Czech Republic

In 2009 TeST Aircraft were marketed in North America by Bohemican International, 36 Buchanan Road, St. Cathatires, Ontario L2M 4R6, Canada.