TOYOTA

TAA-1: the plane developed by the Japanese giant with Toyota's automotive production system

What's the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about Toyota? I imagine the answer is not a plane. But did you know that the famous vehicle manufacturer has already tried to venture into the aviation sector?

On May 31, the first flight of a Toyota plane turned 22 years old.

The low-wing single-engine vehicle made from composite materials was developed following simplified construction concepts from the Toyota automotive production system.

Testing of the TAA-1 took place at California's Mojave Airport in 2002.

The model had capacity for four occupants and was an attempt to rival the then-new Cirrus SR20 and SR22, Columbia, and the traditional single-engine models from Cessna and Piper.

Toyota's objective was to design its own aircraft, following other Japanese companies that also operate in the automobile sector, such as Honda and Mitsubishi. The idea was that Toyota Motor Sales, the automotive sector's sales division, would help ensure that the production process was low cost.

The project lasted 18 years, between 1990 and 2008. The first flight took place with the plane equipped with a 180 hp Lycoming IO-360 engine. However, the dream was to enable the use of an automotive engine, which would reduce production costs and open a new business unit.

The company even carried out some tests with a V8 engine from the 1991 Lexus LS400 sedan, however, the results were below expectations. Toyota hired engineers from Raytheon and Boeing in an attempt to improve the aircraft's development and apply its own engine. The company itself even stated that the aircraft would be a type of “Corolla with wings”.

After numerous negotiations and attempts to create a joint venture with a piston aircraft manufacturer at the time, the project ended up shelved during the 2008 financial crisis. All existing contracts were canceled and, in 2011, the civil aviation agency of the United States States (FAA) canceled the registration of the TAA-1 aircraft.

Vivaero