Bend, Ore.-based Epic Aircraft, maker of the Epic LT turboprop single kitplane, was acquired on Tuesday by Engineering llc, a Russian maintenance, repair and overhaul firm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Epic Aircraft CEO Douglas King, who remains with the company in this same position, said it is “exciting to be a part of Epic Aircraft’s next chapter.” This next step is FAA certification, and the acquisition will give Epic enough funding to work on a certified version of the six-place turboprop. According to Epic, it will take about three years to certify the airplane.

Epic said a licensing agreement it has with Aviation Industries of China (Avic), which bought the original Epic Air’s assets in bankruptcy in April 2010, restricts it only from selling kitplanes outside the U.S., meaning it can sell certified versions of the LT without any restrictions. Under Engineering llc, Epic will continue to manufacture and sell the LT kitplane to current and prospective customers. It can also now offer current customers the ability to trade up previous purchases to a certified version. Production of the kitplane, as well as the forthcoming certified LT, will remain in Bend.