Adam Aircraft executives raised a toast Monday to the first customer to buy one of the company’s planes.
Company president Joe Walker greeted the pilot, Mike Leahy of Colorado Springs, after his first flight.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Walker said.
Leahy, a chiropractor to the stars, flew from Orlando, Fla., to Centennial Airport in his new Adam A500, with a fuel stop in Shreveport, La.
“I’m so happy to be in this airplane,” he said.
The Adam A500, a six-seat, twin-engine propeller plane, received Federal Aviation Administration certification in May. Centennial Airport-based Adam Aircraft has been developing the $1.2 million plane for more than five years.
Monday’s delivery was a major step forward for entrepreneur Rick Adam, who started Adam Aircraft Industries in 1998. Two years later, he told The Denver Post, “People have told me this can’t be done. That’s exactly the kind of thing I like to work on.”
Adam is a former Goldman Sachs executive and founded Greenwood Village-based software company New Era of Networks, which was acquired by Sybase Inc. in 2001. Adam Aircraft has grown to about 490 employees, most of them in Colorado.
The company’s marketing director, Marc Blakely, brought sparkling cider to toast Monday’s occasion. He said the first delivery signals a growth from start up company to mature revenue-generating business.
After arriving to the applause of more than 100 employees waiting in a hangar, Leahy signed a dollar bill to Rick Adam and his “crew.”
Leahy has found success in trademarking and patenting a process to treat soft-tissue injuries. He owns Active Release Techniques and has worked with Denver Broncos and other prominent athletes.
Leahy travels often for business to teach his technique. He was an Air Force pilot but has never owned a plane. He is leasing the plane back to Adam Aircraft for demonstrations.
Adam expects the $2.25 million A700 jet, a follow-up to the A500, to get certification in late 2006. The company has more than 280 on order, including fleet orders for planes to be used in air-taxi services. Another 80 A500s also have been ordered. The company is hiring and could grow by 20 percent as production ramps up.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
