Adam Aircraft (Hall 5 stand 662) is in a buoyant mood this EBACE. Since its A500 all-composite piston twin received baseline certification in May 2005, the company has achieved several milestones. Last week test pilots took one of its A700 very light jets to 41,000ft (12,500m) and accelerated briefly to 340kt (630km/h). The jet’s planned maximum altitude is 41,000ft. The company says the aircraft was still climbing at 1,000ft/min (5.08m/s) through 39,000ft. According to Adam, the jet performed perfectly. Other tests toward certification have been accelerated and are set for completion by 30 June.
The A500 is approved for day/visual flight rules operations and the company is expecting type inspection authorisation (TIA) next week for its defog, instrument pane and autopilot systems, and TIA for cabin pressure by the end of April. Adam is due to deliver two more A500s by the end of May
The A700, meanwhile, has 460 flight hours to date With a cabin size of 6.8m3 (240ft3) versus Cessna’s 5.95m3 six-seater Mustang and the 4.5m3 five-seat Eclipse, the A700 can be configured for either seven or eight passengers.
The second A700 off the production line has seen upgrades in the form of larger baggage doors, a wooden door for the lavatory, which has been moved to offer better privacy and added legroom for a seventh passenger. At $2.25 million, it is cheaper than the $2.60 million Cessna Mustang and the company believes it will fare well against the $1.51 million Eclipse.
Adam has also strengthened its customer-care programme with a dedicated support aircraft, tail number N247CS, signifying its 247 (North American) availability The company says that this is the first time that this section of the market has seen a dedicated customer support aircraft.
The manufacturer is confident that its A700 programme will move forward quickly; the airframe has 65% commonality with the A500; the FADEC, and avionics systems are proven; and the Williams FJ-33 engines are certificated derivatives of the FJ-44.
The company is so confident of the aircraft’s capability that it has put guaranteed operating costs programmes in place. It says its order backlog has increased from $435 million to $730 million and that the next available slots are the fourth quarter of 2007 for the A500 and the second quarter of 2008 for the A700.
The A500 is approved for day/visual flight rules operations and the company is expecting type inspection authorisation (TIA) next week for its defog, instrument pane and autopilot systems, and TIA for cabin pressure by the end of April. Adam is due to deliver two more A500s by the end of May
The A700, meanwhile, has 460 flight hours to date With a cabin size of 6.8m3 (240ft3) versus Cessna’s 5.95m3 six-seater Mustang and the 4.5m3 five-seat Eclipse, the A700 can be configured for either seven or eight passengers.
The second A700 off the production line has seen upgrades in the form of larger baggage doors, a wooden door for the lavatory, which has been moved to offer better privacy and added legroom for a seventh passenger. At $2.25 million, it is cheaper than the $2.60 million Cessna Mustang and the company believes it will fare well against the $1.51 million Eclipse.
Adam has also strengthened its customer-care programme with a dedicated support aircraft, tail number N247CS, signifying its 247 (North American) availability The company says that this is the first time that this section of the market has seen a dedicated customer support aircraft.
The manufacturer is confident that its A700 programme will move forward quickly; the airframe has 65% commonality with the A500; the FADEC, and avionics systems are proven; and the Williams FJ-33 engines are certificated derivatives of the FJ-44.
The company is so confident of the aircraft’s capability that it has put guaranteed operating costs programmes in place. It says its order backlog has increased from $435 million to $730 million and that the next available slots are the fourth quarter of 2007 for the A500 and the second quarter of 2008 for the A700.
Source: Flight Daily News
