Polish engineering company Metal Master has started engine ground runs on the Williams International FJ33-5A-powered Flaris LAR-1 personal jet, and is preparing the five-seat single for its first flight in the third quarter.
Testing is taking place on serial number 7 at the company’s facility in Podgórzyn, southwest Poland. Metal Master says it is being supported in the early stages of development and flight testing by Williams engineers, who arrived in March from the USA.
“During a static test run in June, serial number 7's FJ33 turbofan was positively checked throughout the entire power range,” says Rafal Ladzinski, co-owner of Metal Master and Flaris project director. “Full integration of gearbox-driven accessories is expected in the coming weeks,” he adds.
Metal Master has also installed the mounting hard points and container for the emergency parachute system which is a standard feature on the LAR-1.
Although the ventilation and pressurisation unit is “well advanced”, Ladzinski says the flight test aircraft will initially be unpressurised.
Serial numbers 5 and 7 will be used for flight testing, while serial number 6 is the static fatigue ground test article, he adds.
Metal Master plans to open the orderbook for the €1.6 million ($1.8 million) LAR-1 following its maiden sortie. The all-composite aircraft will initially be validated under the Polish civil aviation authority’s S-1 experimental aircraft designation, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2017. A certificated version – approved to European CS-23 standards – is expected to follow in 2019.
Metal Master is targeting the LAR-1 at owner flyers and commercial air taxi operators, and Ladzinski anticipates demand for “several 100 aircraft a year”.
Source: Flight International
