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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 0741.PDF
Directory: business aircraft Vulcanair's VF600W single- engined turboprop is set for certification in the fourth quarter The move is also an attempt by Raytheon to provide a smoother transition to the similarly equipped Premier I and Hawker 800XP business jets. Opa Locka Airport, 150001 NW 42nd Avenue Miami, Florida, 33054, USA Tel +1 305 779 4040 Fax 305 779 4050 Website www.safireaircraft.com Satire Aircraft is developing the very light Satire Jet, which is earmarked for first flight in September. To fund development, the manufacturer will seek to secure at least 200 firm orders for the six-seat aircraft from fresh sales and existing non-binding con tracts. To achieve this goal, Safire is pooling its resources into engineering and sales staff. To date the company has clinched 32 orders and 363 options for the aircraft and the investors are hoping to convince at least half the option holders to part with 15% of the $1.3 million delivery price. Safire is also seeking an assembly base for the aircraft and says its has narrowed it choice to five US locations, including Florida and Texas, where local and state authorities have agreed to provide incentives in return for hosting the plant. Negotiations continue with a developer and investor that will build a turnkey facility, including tooling and equipment that can be leased to Safire. 1770 Sky Place Boulevard, San Antonio, Texas, 7821, USA Tel +1 (210) 258 3900 Fax +1 (210) 258 3973 Website www.sj30jet.com Sino Swearingen has still to announce for mally its planned certification target for the SJ30-2 light business jet, although the company is believed to be aiming for the third quarter of 2005. The certification schedule was hit by the crash of a test air craft in April 2003, but the company says two test aircraft are flying "seven days a week" and a third and final test aircraft, being assembled at the company's Martinsburg, West Virginia plant, will join the flight-test programme shortly. The SJ30 completed static load tests on the wing structure late last year. The conventionally constructed SJ30-2 twinjet is a seven-seat light business jet aimed at high cruise speeds up to Mach 0.83. The aircraft first flew in its original form in 1991. Via G. Pascoli, 7 Casoria, Naples, 80026 Italy Tel +39 081 5918111 Fax +39 081 5918172 www.vulcanair.com Vulcanair offers the VF600W Mission sin- gle-engined turboprop. The 14-seat Walter M601F-powered aircraft recently under went structural changes, including the installation of a cargo door and the addi tion of a co-pilot seat and an extra passen ger door. This has led to a delay in certification of around six months to the fourth quarter. The aircraft is pitched against the Cessna Caravan. TABLES START ON P76 HI AEROSTAR AIRCRAFT Aerostar Aircraft continues to seek outside investment to fund its FJ-100 light jet derivative of the Piper Aerostar 600/700 piston twin to delivery. Aerostar aircraft acquired the rights to the design in 1991 and produces spare parts for the original aircraft under a licence agreement. Changes incorporated into the FJ-100 from the original Piper design include a stretched fuselage, strengthened wing, cruci form tail, increased maximum take-off weight of 3,300kg and two 1,200-1,500lb-thrust Williams FJ33 or Pratt and Whitney Canada PW610Fturbofans. AVOCET PROJET Avocet is seeking the support of Israel Aircraft industries to develop its $2 million ProJet very light jet which is earmarked for certification in 2007. The Israeli manufacturer is evaluating the best aircraft design and says a decision on whether to participate in a risk-sharing partnership will be made in the next two months. An order for 100 ProJets from Cleveland, Ohio-based Jet Partners hinges on lAI's involvement. EVIATION VANTAGE Eviation acquired the intellectual property of VisionAire last October for around $440,000 and the company plans to turn the Vantage single-engined light jet into a twin powered by two Williams FJ33s. Funding for the project remains tight, however, and the company has not set a certification date for the $2-$2.5 million aircraft. SPORT JET Monument, Colorado-based Excel Jet is developing a five-seat single-engine very light jet, incorporating a ballistic parachute system. The pre-production prototype Sport Jet is scheduled for first flight in the second half of the year, leading to US certifica tion in 2006. Excel Jet is evaluating two engines, the Williams FJ33 and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615 rated at 1,300-1,5001 b thrust. Selection will be made before the Experimental Aircraft Association's Airventure show in July. EXPLORER 500T Explorer Aircraft continues to seek investment to complete certi fication of the 10-passenger, Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-135B-powered 500T, and continue development of the 16- passenger growth version, the 750T. Last year Explorer was forced to suspend work on its 500R piston engine version follow ing the collapse of aircraft's engine supplier Orenda Recip. MAVERICK LEADER Maverick Jets suffered a setback in the development of a factory- built derivative of its Leader kit-built personal jet, after the withdrawal of partner Georgian manufacturer Tbilaviamsheni (TAM). Maverick says three Leaders have flown hundreds of com bined hours and it still plans to certificate the aircraft. 74 18-24 MAY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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