Adam Aircraft plans to roll out the first conforming A700 very light jet (VLJ) by the end of November, and expects to start flight tests by the last week of December, with “initial” certification due in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Aviation Technology Group (ATG), meanwhile, expects to resume flight tests of its Javelin two-seat VLJ in December following installation of back-up gear and flap retraction systems.
Upgrades to the Javelin prototype will allow gear and flaps to be fully retracted and enable the flight envelope to be opened up beyond the 185kt (340km/h) and 14,000ft achieved in the initial three sorties. ATG says it remains on track for first deliveries in 2008.
Changes to Adam’s first “proof-of-concept” A700, which has accumulated 350 flight-test hours, include the addition of a belly fuel pod, new throttle pedestal, rudder and aileron trim system, autopilot, pressurisation, Williams International FJ33-4 turbofans with full authority digital engine control and an expanded nose baggage area. The cockpit is now more representative, with Avidyne Entegra primary flight and multifunction displays (PFD/MFD), although production-standard flightdecks will have a three-display layout with two PFDs and a single MFD.
Other changes include an optional lavatory module, and a revised window layout in which the emergency exit has been moved aft, while the fifth window has been moved forward to improve pilot visibility. The complete interior will be flight tested on the fourth aircraft, which is due to join the test effort in mid-2006, while systems will be evaluated with the third A700, which is due to begin flight tests around April 2006. The second aircraft, currently in final assembly, will be used for aerodynamics and propulsion aspects.
Despite certification issues with Adam’s first aircraft, the closely related, piston-powered A500, the Colorado-based company remains bullish on the prospects for both models. President and chief operating officer Joe Walker says the combined firm order backlog is for 362 aircraft worth more than $730 million. “The next A700 availability is not until the first quarter of 2008,” he says.
Most of the sales have emerged over the past 18 months, Walker says, with the A700 amassing more than $500 million in firm fleet sales for 225 aircraft since March 2004. Orders now total 282 for the A700 and 80 for the A500, he says.
Adam is launching a customer support programme providing guaranteed “nose-to-tail” direct operating cost coverage on “everything except fuel”, says Walker. “That’s things like scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, brakes, lights, gear, tyres – everything is covered.”
The programme will cost A500 customers $250/h for three years or 750h, and A700 buyers$350/h for the same period, and gives operators access to an Adam-provided A500 replacement aircraft at no charge, he adds.
Colorado-based ATG, meanwhile, has announced key suppliers on the Javelin, including composites specialist Alliant Techsystems, which will build the fuselage; Applied Composite Technology Aerospace (ACTA), providing the wing, empennage and control surfaces; and Switzerland-based Mecaplex for the windshield and canopy.
Other suppliers include Parker Hannifin for flight controls, Northcoast Technologies for electrothermal ice protection; Meggitt Thermal Systems for environmental control and inlet de-ice; and Dukes of California for cabin pressurisation.
The landing gear will be supplied by Mecaer, a Canadian-Italian undercarriage specialist that came to ATG’s rescue with a redesigned nose gear within six weeks of shimmy problems being encountered during taxi tests.
Avidyne is supplying the avionics, Argo-tech the fuel system and Williams International the FJ33-17M turbofans.
Source: Flight International
