 |
|
|
Register for LOOPGet your copy of LOOP by registering for FREE! | Find a school/club | Book Flying Lesson
| Buy an aircraft
| Sell an aircraft
| |||
LOOP News 9 AUG 06: JET SET FIRES UPThe company expects to receive full type certification for the Eclipse 500 by the end of August that will allow day/night, VFR/IFR, single-pilot and Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (RVSM) operations. Most importantly, full certification also means Eclipse can start delivering aircraft to customers - more than 50 are due by the end of the year. "We have looked forward to this monumental accomplishment since Eclipse was founded nearly eight years ago," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. Eclipse claims the $1.52 million aircraft is the least expensive twin-turbofan business jet in the world, delivering acquisition and operating costs dramatically lower than those of current entry-level jets. A report on the economic impact of VLJs was released at Oshkosh by Eclipse. Commissioned by Eclipse, the study assesses the growing impact of this new class of aircraft, and underscores the vital role VLJs are positioned to play in the US national economy. The FAA predicts that a fleet of nearly 5000 VLJs will be in service by 2017, with this report assuming that two-thirds of these aircraft will be used for air taxi service. Nationwide in the US, there will be over 23,000 jobs directly connected with the manufacture or operation of VLJs, representing some $6.5 billion in output and $1.7 billion in personal earnings. Economic activity in 2017 related in some fashion to VLJs will total nearly $24 billion in output, $6.9 billion in earnings and over 189,000 jobs. We are proud to be at the center of a new aviation ecosystem that will add value, vibrancy and billions of dollars to our economy," said Raburn. It's not Eclipse of course. Cessna is on track to certify its VLJ, the six-seat Citation Mustang, in boith the US and Europe later this year. Honda confirmed at Oshkosh that it is to put its innovative Hondajet into production, aiming for certification in three to four years. It is forming a business alliance with New Piper Aircraft, the Florida-based aircraft maker, to collaborate on sales and service. "Aviation has been an important dream of Honda for more than four decades," said Satoshi Toshida, senior managing director of Honda Motor Co. "Our goal is consistent with the philosophy of other Honda products -- to provide convenient and efficient transportation that will make people's lives better. "In Piper we believe we have a partner we can collaborate with in our effort to bring new value to customers in the very light jet market," said Toshida. The other VLJ contenders include Adam Aircraft with its twin tailboom, twin jet A700 which had its first flight last February and AvTech Group with the fighter-style two-seat Javelin jet. Recent changes to the Javelin spec include bigger wings and, announced at Oshkosh, a central control stick rather than a sidestick. Brazilian manufacturer Embraer announced earlier this year it is developing a VLJ, the 100 Phenom, a down-sized version of its bigger jets. Cirrus has said it is going to develop a single-jet version of its four-seat SR22 piston aircraft. Two small manufacturers, Spectrum and Excel-Jet, suffered accidents with their prototypes recently and their future is uncertain. FAST FACTS ADAM A700 Max cruise 340kt Rate of climb na Takeoff roll 2950ft Range 1400nm Ceiling 41,000ft Useful load 2950lb Seats 7/8 Power 2 x Williams FJ33-4A, each producing 1350lb thrust Price $2.25 million W: www.adamaircraft.com CESSNA MUSTANG Max cruise 340kt Rate of climb na Takeoff roll 951mt Range 1150nm Ceiling 41,000ft Useful load 3180lb Seats 6 Power 2 x Pratt & Whitney PW615F, each producing 1350lb thrust Price $2.5 million W: http://mustang.cessna.com DIAMOND D-JET Max cruise 315kt Rate of climb na Takeoff roll na Range 1350nm Ceiling 25,000ft Useful load 2240lb Seats 5 Power 1 x Williams FJ33-4 Price $1.38 million W: www.diamondair.com ECLIPSE 500 Max cruise 370kt Rate of climb 3314 ft/min Takeoff roll 2297ft Range 1125nm Ceiling 41,000ft Useful load 2400lb Seats 6 Power 2 x Pratt & Whitney PW610F turbofan, each producing 900lb thrust Price $1.52m W: www.eclipseaviation.com HONDAJET Max cruise 412kt Rate of climb na Takeoff roll na Range 1100nm Ceiling 43,000ft Useful load na Seats 7 Power 2 x GE-Honda HF118 Turbofan, each producing 1670lb thrust Price na W: http://world.honda.com/HondaJet/ ATG JAVELIN MK-10 Max cruise 500kt Rate of climb 9000ft/min Takeoff roll na Range 1000nm Ceiling 45,000ft Useful load na Seats 2 Power 2 x Williams FJ33, each producing 1800lb thrust Price $3 million W: www.avtechgroup.com |                      | ||||||
 Aeros with Alan – Opening your Personal Flight Envelope Learning aerobatics is a great motivational tool for improving your flying. |  Learn to fly So you want to learn to fly? What do you do? Take a look at our guide to get you airborne. | 
Want to learn how to fly? |
THIS is the moment fans of the Avro Vulcan bomber have been waiting for - the Vulcan being restored at by the 'Vulcan To T ... more
THE latest craze for thrill-seekers is heli-biking - where a helicopter transports riders and off-road bikes to the top of ... more
ARINC has expanded its SkyLink in-flight communications service, the world's only satellite broadband service for business ... more | ||||
| All material © LOOP Publishing (UK) Ltd 2005-2007 |
.jpg)
