CENTURY AEROSPACE says that it has funding in place to complete the first prototype of its Century Jet single-engine business jet, which was unveiled at the US Experimental Aircraft Association's Oshkosh show held in early August.
The Columbus, Ohio-based company says that it will not build a proof-of-concept aircraft. The first Century Jet will be a "fully conforming prototype" for certification flight-testing, says vice- president of marketing Patrick de la Garza.
Century was formerly known as Paragon Aircraft and its aircraft was called the Spirit; the name was changed, in part because of confusion with Peregrine Flight International, which had attempted to certificate the Bede BD-10 single-engine jet-powered light aircraft, says de la Garza.
The company is aiming to fly the prototype in the third quarter of 1997. Additional funding will be required to build a second prototype, complete certification 12-18 months after first flight, and tool up for production of four aircraft a month, he says.
Negotiations are under way with four US locations bidding to host the final-assembly plant, according to de la Garza.
Contracts to manufacture parts for the first prototype are about to be let, he says. The company began taking $75,000 refundable deposits at Oshkosh, where it displayed a full-scale cabin mock-up. Priced at $1.8 million, the Century Jet is a six-seat aircraft, powered by an 85kN (1,900lb)-thrust Williams-Rolls FJ44-1, with a composite fuselage and metal wing.
Detail design is under way, according to de la Garza. The aircraft is designed to fly twice as fast and twice as far as a Cessna 340 piston-twin, for half the cost per kilometre, he claims.
Estimated performance for the 2,500kg gross-weight aircraft includes a maximum operating Mach number of 0.71 and a range with five passengers of 2,400km (1,300nm).
Source: Flight International
