Mathieu Heintz and his wife, Jennifer, proudly officiated at the ceremony attended by local aviation enthusiasts, as well as state and local economic developers.

"We are happy to be here and proud of this facility you have helped us build," said Heintz in his opening remarks to the gathering. The plant is in a brand new 28,000 square foot building and will employ fifty to sixty people once it is in full operation.

AMD is the first airplane manufacturer to call Eastman, Ga., home, and the team who brought the project together were clearly optimistic, surrounded by shiny new fuselage in different states of construction. The company, whose roots are in Midland, Canada, will be building two-seater planes that weigh about 1600 pounds and go approximately 115 mph.

Jim Davey, the company's manager, explains that the firm was formed to manufacture light aircraft certified by the FAA, for use in the United States.

"We currently build the CH2T basic trainer and the deluxe CH 2000 sport utility aircraft. They're light, strong, dependable, and fun to fly," he says. The planes are used for pleasure as well as for training in flight schools. (Their first craft was bought by Key Flight Academy in Utica, N.Y., for training.) So far this year six planes have been completed. "We expect to complete one hundred by year's end," says Davey.

Randall Peters, president of Heart of Georgia Technical Institute, is one of AMD's most enthusiastic supporters. The company is just a few hundred yards from the Heart of Georgia Regional Airport and the institute, so a productive learning site and the real world of flying have a perfect place to grow together.

"This whole project is a model for economic development anywhere," says Peters. "We have a truly symbiotic relationship here: an excellent training facility, a runway at our doorstep, customers interested in training and using our students and vice versa. Many agencies have come together to make this project work — from local banks, to the state legislature, to Oglethorpe Power, to local and federal airport authorities, and our Chamber of Commerce, to all the fine people at Heart of Georgia Tech and our Quick Start friends. The opportunities are numerous and, as we say out here at the airport, 'The sky's the limit.' "

Peters also notes that Quick Start, Heart of Georgia Tech, and AMD's partnership will be a long-lasting one. "Even as one phase of training might end, the results will live on with HGTI's commitment to aviation technology," he predicts.

Heintz, whose father also is an airplane manufacturer, has been building plane parts since he was a child.

"It's in my blood. I love airplanes and flying. I can't imagine doing anything else," he explains.

"But we couldn't have trained our people without Quick Start. All of the construction know-how is in somebody's brain up in Canada, which doesn't do us any good down here. Quick Start went to Canada, discussed the details with our people there, and created a fabulous training manual along with computer-based training to use at this facility," says Heintz.

He says he wants his employees to be learning all the time, whether they started out in aircraft mechanics or sheet metal construction. He also wants all of them to be flying, eventually. Since Heart of Georgia Tech has a flight training program, this goal for his employees is not out of the question.

How did a Canadian end up in Eastman, Ga.?

"We found the state and local enthusiasm and determination to bring us here irresistible," says Heintz.

Bill Dobbs, Director of Canadian Economic Development at the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism, says AMD's presence will bring others in the industry to Eastman by creating a manufacturing presence.

Himself a pilot, Dobbs is truly impressed by AMD's planes and their accessibility to the general population.

The efficient planes are made out of aluminum and have a Lycoming engine designed by Porsche. Engines will last about 2400 hours as long as they are cared for properly.

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