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| News & Scoreboards |
Flight Delays
Justin Martin
10/01/2005
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Very light jets (VLJs) will soon be crisscrossing the skies above your local
executive airport. Maybe. While a quartet of companies are vying to be the first
to deliver a VLJ, perhaps as early as next spring, none has received FAA
certification. Eclipse Aviation, Cessna, Adam Aircraft and Embraer are all
seeking approval; Albuquerque-based Eclipse claims to be in the lead and wants
to begin delivering its VLJ next March. The Eclipse 500 (pictured above and on
next page) is slated to seat six, cost $1.3 million and travel 430 mph with a
range of nearly 1,500 miles.
However, FAA certification is a turbulent
process. It was just one year ago that Adam Aircraft crowed that it would be the
first to market. Based in Englewood, Colo., Adam’s plane has specs similar to
the Eclipse, although its A700 will be pricier: $2.1 million. The company will
now say only that it expects certification sometime in 2006 and plans to begin
delivering planes immediately thereafter. “Pinpointing FAA certification is like
telling your wife you’ll be back from a round of golf in 4 hours, 26 minutes,”
says Joe Walker, Adam’s president.
 VLJs weigh in at less than 10,000 pounds
and cost about half the $4.1 million of even the least expensive executive jet.
They are also expected to use new materials and sport a host of technological
innovations, as well as beyond-state-of-the-art avionics, pilot-friendly
controls and other advances. Adam’s plane, for example, features a carbon
composite airframe propelled by Williams International engines that are based on
the ultra-lightweight engines used in cruise missiles.
If all goes as
planned, VLJs will open new markets, making jets available to a new segment of
flyers. “This has the potential to be an air-travel revolution. The competition
between the various manufacturers is intense,” says Jack Olcott, president of
General Aero, a consulting firm in Morristown, N.J.
Many aviation analysts
expect Cessna—which has also said it will deliver a VLJ sometime next year—to
secure first mover advantage. Unlike Eclipse and Adam, Cessna is hardly new to
the industry. The Wichita-based company has been in business since 1927, and
over the past decade has successfully shepherded 11 business jets through FAA
certification. Cessna’s VLJ, the Mustang, will seat six, cost $2.4 million and
travel 390 mph with a range of 1,500 miles.
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