Jump to content

Very light jet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Materialscientist (talk | contribs) at 08:34, 28 July 2010 (Reverted edits by 70.71.18.249 (talk) to last version by Ahunt). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:Infobox aviation A very light jet (VLJ), previously known as a microjet, is, by convention, a small jet aircraft approved for single-pilot operation, seating 4-8 people, with a maximum take-off weight of under 10,000 pounds (4,540 kg).[1][2][3] They are lighter than what is commonly termed business jets and are designed to be flown by single pilot owners.

By late 2009 the term Very Light Jet had become so tainted by the "billion-dollar debacle" of Eclipse Aviation who trumpeted that term widely, that most manufacturers were avoiding use of the term to describe their products. The NBAA's Brian Foley explained "The term VLJ was at times tainted by...unrealistic expectations and even failure. The industry would do well to drop hyped words in order to improve credibility with users." Cessna never used the term to describe its Mustang, Embraer labels its Phenom 100 an "entry-level jet" and Stratos has described their jet as "not a VLJ...but a very light personal jet." [4]

Development

A number of designs are in development, and will feature advanced avionics with glass cockpit technology. VLJs are intended to have lower operating costs than conventional jets, and will be able to operate from runways as short as 3,000 feet (914 m). In the United States, where the majority of these jets are being designed, NASA and the FAA have encouraged their development and foresee their widespread use in point-to-point air taxi service. The Small Aircraft Transportation System would provide air service to areas ignored by airlines.

These "on-demand" air taxi services depend on low cost projections and high demand to become a reality. The viability of these services is the subject of much debate among industry experts. Richard Aboulafia, an aviation industry expert and a self-described "VLJ agnostic", believes that the VLJ phenomenon may turn out to be one of the greatest disappointments in the aviation industry, due to the hype and economic infeasibility of large-scale air-taxi operations.[5][6]

In total, over 3,000 VLJs have been ordered from three manufacturers. Cessna Aircraft Company, based in Wichita, Kansas, delivered the first ever production VLJ, the six-seater Citation Mustang, to Mustang Management Group of Fresno, California on November 23, 2006.[7] Cessna has over 500 orders for the Mustang, mainly from owner-operators. Cessna received full certification for the Mustang on September 8, 2006.[8] Cessna received FAA certification to fly into "known icing conditions" on November 9, 2006.[9] Cessna received its FAA Production Certificate for the Mustang on November 23, 2006.

Eclipse Aviation, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at one time claimed to have 2,500 Eclipse 500 aircraft on order.[10] Eclipse received their full certification for their Eclipse 500 three weeks after Cessna's Mustang on September 30, 2006. Eclipse had expected to receive certification for flight into known icing conditions in 2007, but the work was not completed. Eclipse had also announced that they intended to deliver 515 airplanes in 2007 and eventually planned to have a production capacity of four airplanes per day. In a letter to customers and investors, Eclipse Aviation CEO Vern Raburn on November 26, 2006 addressed concerns that the company had not yet delivered its first aircraft. Raburn explained that the delay was caused because the FAA was concerned about the Eclipse not meeting conformity requirements, but he wrote that he still expected Eclipse to deliver the planned 10 aircraft in 2006.[11] Eclipse did not meet Raburn's delivery expectation, but they were eventually able to deliver a single copy of its VLJ on December 31, 2006. The official delivery ceremony and keys were handed over on January 4, 2007.[12] Eclipse eventually received its FAA production certificate [13] and delivered more certified VLJs since. On November 26, 2008, Eclipse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and entered Chapter 7 liquidation in February 2009.[14]

Adam Aircraft announced that they had an order backlog of 282 of its Adam A700 VLJ offering.[15] At the time Adam folded on February 11, 2008, Adam had a prototype plane flying, with full certification expected later that year. After the bankruptcy of Adam Aircraft and its purchase by AAI Acquisition Inc, in April 2009 Adam Aircraft ceased operations and laid off all its staff, ending development of the A700.[16][17] In July 2009 Thomas Hsueh purchased the remaining tooling, parts and intellectual property of Adam Aircraft and commenced a redesign of the A700 with the intent of producing the aircraft at the Port of Skagit County, Skagit County, Washington.[18][19]

Florida-based air taxi provider DayJet, which on October 3, 2007 began its Eclipse 500 service, planned to operate more than 1,000 of the VLJs within five years,[20] and had stated in mid-2007 that it planned to operate 300 Eclipse 500s serving 40 regional airports in the Southeastern United States by the end of 2008.[3] DayJet ceased operations on September 19, 2008.[20]

Interior amenities

A New York Times article from August 29, 2006 posed the question, "Will having a lavatory on board be the key factor in short flight success?"[21] A July 2006 NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams broadcast also discussed the issue of the Eclipse 500's lack of a toilet.[22] Passengers who need to relieve themselves on the Eclipse 500 are required to bring along a portable container. Eclipse Aviation's CEO Vern Raburn suggested that most of his company's customers would use the VLJ for short flights of 300 to 500 miles and 40 to 80 minutes duration, and that the lavatory issue is not a problem for VLJ customers.[21] The Eclipse 500 has the option of an electric flush, remove-to-service lavatory with a privacy curtain, but this option comes at the expense of one passenger seat.

Rick Adam, CEO of Adam Aviation, disagreed and says, "People are not going to get on a plane without a bathroom, at least they are not going to do it more than once". The Adam A700 has a 7-seat configuration with rear lavatory with a privacy curtain. The Cessna Mustang also has an emergency toilet, but it is located between the cockpit and cabin. The Embraer Phenom 100 offers a fully enclosed lavatory with a solid door. These toilet-equipped planes are considerably more expensive than the Eclipse was when it was in production, but they may be preferable for owners, especially those planning on using their jet's full range. The new air taxi service companies, which made up the bulk of the undelivered Eclipse orders, have done surveys that show that having a toilet is not a concern for most of their passengers. Before its bankruptcy the CEO of DayJet said that even if his company outgrew the Eclipse 500, he intended that his company's larger planes be configured without a toilet.[22]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Mardiat, Ed (undated). "Need to Know - Light Flyer - What is a Very light Jet?" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-11-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  2. ^ Pike, John (2009). "Very Light Jet - VLJ". Retrieved 2009-11-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b Mini-Jet Revolution, or Dot-Com with Wings?, David Noland, Popular Mechanics, June 2007, accessed 2010-03-04.
  4. ^ Bertorelli, Paul (2009). "VLJ? What VLJ". Retrieved 2009-10-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Croft, John (May 2006). "Very Light Jets: Boom or Blip" (PDF). Aerospace America. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
  6. ^ Aboulafia, Richard (2006-03-13). "March 2006 Newsletter". Retrieved 2007-02-27.
  7. ^ Trautvetter, Chad (2006-11-23). "Cessna Beats Out Eclipse In First VLJ Delivery". AVweb. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  8. ^ "Smaller, faster, cheaper new jets may transform flying". Associated Press. USA Today. 2006-01-19. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
  9. ^ "Cessna Citation Mustang Cleared for Flight Into Known Icing Conditions" (Press release). Cessna Aircraft Company. 2006-11-09. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  10. ^ Huber, Mark (2006-10-17). "Eclipse targets hefty initial production run". Aviation International News. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  11. ^ Raburn, Vern (2006-11-27). "Eclipse Aviation Customer/Investor Update 11-27-06". AVweb. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  12. ^ "Company second in U.S to deliver light jets". Associated Press. 2007-01-05. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  13. ^ "Eclipse Aviation Receives Production Certificate" (Press release). Eclipse Aviation. 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  14. ^ "Eclipse Aviation files for Chapter 11". Financial Times. 2008-11-26.
  15. ^ "A700 Adam Jet Chosen by Magnum Jet" (Press release). Adam Aircraft Industries. 2006-10-16. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  16. ^ AVweb Editorial Staff (2008). "AVwebFlash Complete Issue: Volume 14, Number 31e". Retrieved 2008-08-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  17. ^ Thurber, Matt (2009). "Remnants of Adam Aircraft See Final Shutdown". Retrieved 2009-05-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. ^ Burnside, Joseph E. (Jeb) (2009). "Adam A500: Push Me, Pull Me, Revive Me?". Retrieved 2009-07-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  19. ^ Pipkin, Whitney (2009). "Company Diversifies and Grows". Retrieved 2010-02-07. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  20. ^ a b "Very Light Jets Enter Fractional Market". Halogen Guides Jets. 2007-11-02. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
  21. ^ a b Sharkey, Joe (2006-08-29). "Big Battle in Small-Jet Skies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  22. ^ a b Di Piazza, Karen. "No Throne Room on Eclipse VLJ: Real Issue or Media Hype?". CharterX. Retrieved 2006-11-29.

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Very_light_jet&oldid=375878712"