Allan Winn/TEL AVIV

GALAXY AEROSPACE rolled out its "super mid-size" Galaxy business jet on 4 September with the promise of orders and commitments covering the first two years' worth of production. The Israel Aircraft Industries/ Pritzker joint venture aims to fly the first aircraft in December, with Israeli and US certification following in the fourth quarter of 1998 and the first delivery to a customer in the first quarter of 1999.

Galaxy is aiming to build two of the $16 million aircraft a month by early 1999. At that level, says IAI Commercial Aircraft Group vice-president and general manager Moti Boness, the group should break even on the Galaxy project once 100 aircraft are built and sold.

This short break-even run is possible, says IAI president and chief executive Moshe Keret, because of the low initial investment in the project. Using the wing of the IAI Astra SPX as a basis for the Galaxy wing, and the low cost of the initial fuselage work done by ex-contractor Yakovlev means that the non-recurring costs came to only $150million.

The Galaxy will be fitted out at Galaxy's planned new headquarters at the Alliance Airport in Dallas, Texas. The aircraft is designed to seat between eight and 18 passengers, and to have a range of 6,660km (3,600nm).

Galaxy president and chief executive officer Brian Barents says it is "-clearly our intention to have a two-year order backlog by the time of the first delivery". At the moment, the company is believed to have some 20 commitments - but many of these are tied up in "roll-over" orders from customers who bought Astra SPXs as stop-gaps when the programme was delayed, and who may not yet be ready to exchange for new Galaxys.

Barents says that Galaxy has yet to decide whether to become involved in a fractional-ownership scheme, but says the aircraft "...must appeal to those companies - it is unique in capability and cost". It has also not decided whether to offer either its own or third-party purchase finance.

Barents says that developing the Galaxy only makes sense in the long term if it is the basis of a range of models, but concedes that using the Astra SPX wing as a basis could be a limitation.

"The wing could take a modest increase in weight, but you would not put a whole new fuselage on that wing", he says.

Source: Flight International