Last week's NBAA show revealed plenty of evidence that smaller aircraft hold the key to success in the business aviation sector
It is hard to say which was the biggest surprise of last week's National Business Aviation Association show in Orlando, Florida: Cessna unveiling its Citation Mustang entry-level jet,or Eclipse Aviation revealing more than 2,000 orders and options for its Eclipse 500 personal jet. There was other news at the show that suggests business aviation'scentre of gravity could be shifting towards smaller aircraft.
Since the Eclipse 500 was launched in March 2000, the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company has almost single-handedly generated and sustained the excitement - and hype - that surrounds the personal jet market. The aircraft's first flight last month was heralded with some justification as a major milestone, but as a start-up, Eclipse must still clear funding hurdles which have brought down other programmes.
Not so Cessna, which has launched and produced more light business jets than any other manufacturer. The verdict at NBAA was that the Mustang's launch legitimises the "micro-jet". New Piper chief executive Chuck Suma said Cessna's entry into the market would make it easier for the company to secure finance for its own small jet project. Honeywell, for the first time, made a stab at estimating the size of the ultra-light jet market, which it put at 8,000 aircraft over the next10 years - a figure Cessna believes could prove conservative.
Few doubt there is pent-up demand for new aircraft among the thousands of owners and operators of ageing piston twins and turboprops. The problem lies in unlocking that demand. Price is a big factor. So is customer confidence in a manufacturer's ability to deliver. And so is the type of aircraft offered.
EADS Socata's TBM700 and Piper's Meridian, while successful, have shown that single turboprops are not enough to unleash the flood of demand and there is only one new piston twin under development - the A500 from start-up company Adam Aircraft, which made its NBAA debut in Orlando last week. Until 18 months ago, Cessna was on course to develop a turboprop single to bridge the gap between its piston-powered aircraft and its Citation business jets. Its switch to a twin turbofan is confirmation that a jet is the key to unlocking the market.
Viewed one way, it could be argued that the Mustang is simply a downward extension of the Citation line, but its $2.3 million introductory price - more than $2 million less than the entry-level Citation CJ1 - places it in a different category. The Mustang is substantially more expensive than the Eclipse 500, which is priced at under $900,000, but it is still in the heart of an untapped market.
The Eclipse, Mustang and any designs that follow will bring to that market much higher speed and altitude capability than the aircraft they will replace, and small jet manufacturers must tackle the challenge of ensuring their safe operation. Pilots will need type ratings and comprehensive training must be included in the purchase price. Although many aircraft will be owner-flown, both Cessna and Eclipse expect most to be professionally flown for private individuals, small companies and air taxi operators.
It is the chance to tap into this market that so excites an industry that is struggling to sell large aircraft to big publicly traded companies hit by the US economic slowdown and a wave of corporate scandals. This has resulted in the general move downmarket to smaller aircraft. The aircraft making the running are no longer the airliner-sized Airbus Corporate Jet or Boeing Business Jet, or the long-range Bombardier Global Express or Gulfstream G550, but medium-sized aircraft like the Bombardier Challenger 300, Citation Sovereign and Gulfstream's G150, launched at NBAA with a 50-aircraft order from fractional-ownership company NetJets.
The spotlight is back on the corporate use of business aircraft, an unfortunate side-effect of the Enron and WorldCom debacles that is making smaller aircraft look a more sensible and responsible option.
At the same time, the collapse of the stock market has made it more difficult for companies and investors to afford large aircraft. This can be seen within the fractional market, where more and more customers are buying smaller shares in smaller aircraft. Call it entry-level, personal or ultra-light, the small jet could be poised for a market explosion.
Source: Flight International
