Safire Aircraft says customer reaction to selection of a previously unknown engine supplier for its S-26 personal jet has been positive. The company is proceeding with plans for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise funds for certification of the aircraft.
The West Palm Beach, Florida-based company, which expects to have taken deposits on up to 500 aircraft by the end of this month, says it has been contacted by 150 customers seeking more information on the engine and its supplier, Agilis Engines (Flight International, 14-20 March).
Safire designed the S-26 around Williams International's FXJ-2 small turbofan, but switched suppliers after the engine manufacturer signed an exclusive agreement to power Eclipse Aviation's competing personal jet (Flight International, 7-13 March).
Williams' contract to certificate a derivative of the FJX-2 to power the Eclipse 500 will delay availability to other customers of the NASA-sponsored small turbofan. Having been led to believe the Williams engine would be available in 2003,Safire has switched to Agilis to stay on schedule.
The company is also "completely convinced" that Agilis can build a better engine, says Safire president Michael Margaritoff. "Most of our customers are pilots. They understand that by optimising both the aircraft and the engine we will get the best aircraft," he says.
Safire is going ahead with plans for an IPO later this year to raise the $30 million needed to type-certificate the S-26. A separate and parallel effort is under way to raise "more than $100 million" to build a factory and get the production certificate, says Margaritoff.
Agilis, an engineering services company formed in 1993 by ex-Pratt &Whitney employees and based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, will be responsible for raising the funding required for certification and production of its engine, Margaritoff says.
Safire continues to take refundable $8,000 deposits on the $800,000 S-26 at an impressive rate. It booked 118 orders in February and expects to take 140-150 this month. Since announcing that unknown Agilis will be the engine supplier, Safire says it has "not lost one deposit".
Buyers will not be required to make non-refundable downpayments until after the first flight, due in 2002. Certification and first deliveries are planned for 2003.
Source: Flight International
