Quiet Technology Aerospace (QTA) expected to complete its 25th Stage 3 hushkit installation on a Gulfstream business jet by the end of October, as rival Stage III Technologies entered the final stages of certification for its competing noise-reduction design.
The first Rolls-Royce Spey-powered Gulfstream to be hushkitted for a non-US customer - a GII SP operating out of Mexico - was delivered earlier in October and was the 23rd aircraft modified by QTA since its hushkit was certificated in January 2003.
Stage III is finishing testing of the new thrust reverser that is part of its hushkit and expects final certification in December. The first production units are due to be available for installation in the first quarter of 2005, says Chris Hicks, director of sales and marketing.
With only two companies left in the market to hushkit the Spey-powered Gulfstream, Really Quiet having ceased operations, a war of words has broken out between the rivals. Coming to market two years later, and with a hushkit selling for $2 million compared with QTA's $1.35 million, Stage III is emphasising the margin below Stage 3 provided by its design.
Last month, La Jolla, California-based Stage III conducted back-to-back take-offs of its hushkitted GII test aircraft and a chartered GIII fitted with QTA's hushkit. The company says its hushkit was consistently at least 7dB quieter on average.
Miami, Florida-based QTA has disputed the claims, arguing the test results were not collected independently or scientifically. The company says test results compiled by the US Federal Aviation Administration show similar noise output levels.
Source: Flight International
