Florina, the small town in northwest Macedonia, has the slogan, “Where Greece begins” and, more recently, it has become a point of reference for its low-cost aircraft.

Amateur flying enthusiast George Iliopoulos, a policeman, successfully built two fully functioning planes made entirely of low-cost alternative materials.

His single-seat, ultra-lightweight aircraft have drawn the attention of several American companies seeking to exploit its commercial value.
The first prototype, “Lygkistis” was manufactured almost entirely of wood and other recycled materials, including old furniture, a car engine and even a wheelchair.

The “Archon”, which looks similar to a fighter plane, also drew numerous emails from US firms interested in working with Mr Iliopoulos.
But it’s not just the Americans who are interested, a British entrepreneur in the sector of aviation is working to get certification for the “Archon”, Mr Iliopoulos told the Athens Macedonia Newsagency’s radio station Praktoreio 104.9 FM.

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The next model which Mr Iliopoulos’ intends to create is the two-seater SF2 which stands out from its international competition as it “has a propeller at the back and borrows aerodynamic design from the design of well-known fighter aircraft.”

Mr Iliopoulos hopes that his goal is for his models to receive Australian certification.

“We have created all the changes and modifications in collaboration with my clients, who have taken on the cost of research and development,” Mr Iliopoulos said. “With this collaboration, our goal is for registration to take place as it should in Australia,” Mr Iliopoulos said.

Once approval is finalised, Mr Iliopoulos will export kits to Australia.

The sky is the limit for Mr Iliopoulos, who first began to design aircraft after visiting a shop in Canada. It was there that the idea of designing an aircraft made entirely of alternative low-cost materials came to him.

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A cop by trade, he began to think of possible ways to create the aircraft.

Since then, he has not ceased investigating the possibilities for new models.