Yamaha Motor Co and ShinMaywa Industries, have signed an agreement for the joint research of next-generation small aircraft. Under this agreement, Yamaha Motor will explore avenues for adapting its small-engine technologies to the aviation industry.
Yamaha’s current products include motorcycles, scooters, motorized bicycles, boats, sailboats, personal watercraft, swimming pools, utility boats, fishing boats, outboard motors, 4-wheel ATVs, recreational off-road vehicles, go-kart engines, golf carts, multi-purpose engines, electrical generators, water pumps, snowmobiles, auto-mobile engines, surface mounters, intelligent machinery, industrial-use unmanned helicopters, electrical power units for wheelchairs and helmets. So their progression to aircraft power plants almost seems like a natural progression.
The origins of ShinMaywa date back to 1920 and the establishment of an Aircraft Department by Kawanishi Machinery Company. However, the turning point in their business came when we were banned from manufacturing aircraft after the war.
Cherishing the sincere hope that "someday we will make aircraft again," ShinMaywa began to diversify their business for the sake of survival. With their "engineering spirit" brought into full play in businesses other than aircraft manufacturing, ShinMaywa has grown in parallel with various developments in the society, developing products that would eventually lay the foundation for the current mainstay businesses.
ShinMaywa will adapt its aircraft engineering technologies and expertise—garnered through the development of flying boats and various other aircraft—to designing concepts, constructing prototypes, conducting tests, verify autonomous technology and more for small aircraft.
Both companies will use this joint research endeavour to explore possibilities for the commercialization of next-generation small aircraft and take into consideration the direction and future of the project based on market interest and other factors.
