Saunders Aircraft Corporation

The Saunders Aircraft Corporation Ltd. was founded in May 1968 in Montreal , Québec , Canada . The company's first aircraft was the Saunders ST-27 , a converted De Havilland DH.114 Heron with two turboprop engines instead of four piston engines. In spring 1971 the entire company moved to Gimli, Manitoba . They moved into quarters on the grounds of a recently abandoned Air Force Base. However, the first three Saunders ST-27s were still being built in Montreal. In 1976 the company had to close after only twelve Saunders ST-27s and a prototype of the new Saunders ST-28 were built . The Manitoba government had refused any further financial support.