The photo above is not new! It was taken in May, when, after the AERO 2025 the prototype plane was almost stripped apart and thoroughly verified.  Now, OH-NIX looks again like a plane ready for take-off – and it will fly soon.  The question is now about days, not weeks or months.

 

After years of preparation and thousands of pages of regulatory work, we're finally approaching Atol Aurora's first flight, an extremely important milestone. 

 

The maiden flight of the Atol Aurora will also mark a milestone in Finnish aviation history: it is the first Finnish aircraft built and type-approved under stringent civilian aviation regulations. Previous Finnish designs have included military aircraft and ultralight vehicles.

 

The first flight is significant globally, as only a few companies worldwide produce amphibious aircraft capable of operating from runways, remote fields, water, and snow. Demand for such aircraft is growing significantly, with most existing fleets consisting of aging equipment.

 

Sales of the Atol Aurora officially began at the Aero 2025 exhibition in April. The next available delivery slots from the production line are in autumn 2026. Contact our sales team to book your earliest possible delivery!

 

What is Atol Aurora?

 

The Atol Aurora is a single-engine, two-seat aircraft in the LSA (Light Sport Aircraft) category, capable of taking off and landing almost anywhere while flying up to 800 kilometers or six hours without refueling.

 

The aircraft’s primary material is Finnish wood, which, when properly treated and combined with other materials, offers an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Despite misconceptions, wood is highly suitable for aviation use. Like other components in type-approved aircraft, the wood parts’ entire history is meticulously documented from forest to airframe installation. Naturally, only the highest-quality wood is used.

 

The aircraft is powered by a fuel-efficient Rotax 912 iS Sport engine, with flight instruments supplied by Garmin and Kanardia.

 

Cabin ergonomics were developed in collaboration with LAB University of Applied Sciences.

 

Overall, the aircraft’s domestic content is approximately 75%, which is significant from both an industrial policy and supply security perspective.

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The Atol Aurora is based on the ATOL ultralight aircraft (Advanced Take-off and Landing), which first flew in 1988 and has logged over 1,000 flight hours across its variants. The new Atol Aurora is larger, improved, and technologically updated—essentially a new aircraft.

 

Crucially, the production process and facilities in Jämsä’s Halli have been officially approved under strict civilian aviation regulations. Much of the development work has focused on securing rigorous regulatory approval and building the required organization.

 

This enables the aircraft to receive type certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), allowing it to be sold and operated worldwide.

 

Test Flight Program

 

The first Atol Aurora is complete, and this test aircraft will make its maiden flight in Halli as soon as final checks and adjustments are finished. EASA has already granted permission to begin test flights.

 

The aircraft will first undergo engine and system tests and be evaluated on the runway, accelerating to near-takeoff speeds, before finally taking to the air. Tests and the maiden flight require favorable weather, so specific dates cannot be set in advance. Recently, the Finnish summer weather has been conducive to, windy and rainy – everything we'd like to avoid when flying first time.

 

Following the maiden flight, a months-long test flight program will begin to verify the Atol Aurora’s flight characteristics in various situations and conditions.