Kate Sarsfield/LONDON
Aerostar Aircraft is seeking $8.4 million by the end of this year in the first stage of a $40 million investment programme for its FJ-100 turbofan-powered derivative of the Piper Aerostar 600/700 piston twin.
Last year Aerostar restructured for tax reasons to a limited liability company in an effort to appeal to investors, delaying the programme schedule by around a year. First flight of the FJ-100 prototype is set for March 2002. Certification and first deliveries are expected 15 months later.
The $8.4 million will "fund two thirds of the certification programme", says the Hayden Lake, Idaho-based design and manufacturing company. Jim Christy, Aerostar vice-president says: "It takes on average around $300 million to develop a new business aircraft. As the FJ-100 is based on a certified product you could say that we are already $260 million into the programme." Changes include a stretched fuselage, strengthened wing, cruciform tail, increased maximum take-off weight of 3,300kg (7,300lb) and two 1,200lb-thrust (5.3kN) Williams FJ33-1 turbofans.
The six-seat aircraft, designed in 1965 by Ted Smith as a light jet, entered production at Piper Aircraft in 1969 as a piston twin aimed at the owner/flier market. Aerostar acquired the rights to Smith's design in 1991 and produces spare parts for the original aircraft under licence.
Christy says Piper built 1,026 Aerostars, of which 750 are in service. "There was never an engine small enough to power the Aerostar until the FJ33-1s," says Christy. He adds: "With the specifications and detailed drawings both Federal Aviation Administration-approved and the production tooling for the new jet 70% complete, all the pieces are in place for the certification effort."
Source: Flight International
