While the established airframers continue to develop an array of upgrades and derivatives, a number of independent companies are scampering to bring their new designs to market.
Adam Aircraft is working towards development of its A700 centreline-thrust twin-engined very light jet for the first quarter of 2008. The first two test aircraft have chalked up over 1,000h, says company founder and chief executive Rick Adam and "we flew our first fully conforming prototype last month". Adam is now building the remaining three test aircraft, including the first customer aircraft, which will join the programme over the coming months. Adam says the company is also concentrating on the A700 production process. "We are in the process of transforming from a development to a production company," he says. The process of obtaining the production certificate should be fairly straightforward, he suggests, given the similarity between the A700 and its piston-powered sibling, the A500, for which the company was granted a certificate last year.
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Honda's HondaJet has already attracted more than 100 orders |
Honda says the fast-paced development for its twin-engined HondaJet advanced light jet, launched last year as Honda's first foray into the business jet arena, is on track for first deliveries to start in 2010. Earlier this year Honda signed a number of supplier agreements with GKN Aerospace of Alabama, Canada's Avcorp Industries and Garmin International. GKN will supply the fuselage subassembly, Garmin the avionics and Avcorp the wing structural subassembly. The HondaJet has attracted more than 100 orders worth around $360 million, the company says.
The aircraft, which is designed to cruise at around 420kt (780km/h) and seat up to eight, is to be powered by the GE Honda HF120 turbofan for which preliminary testing has begun. The HF120 engine was formally launched in late 2006, when it was selected to power the HondaJet and the Spectrum Aeronautical S-40 Freedom mid-size business jet, which is also earmarked for certification in 2010. The S-40 is a scaled-up version of the S-33 Independence light jet, also be developed by Spectrum, and will be pitched against the Bombardier Learjet 60 market sector.
Spectrum says it plans to restart flight testing with the first production-conforming aircraft early next year. The company lost the first prototype in a fatal crash in 2005, but says it is still on track for certification in 2009. "The programme is steadily moving forward and the activity level is exciting," says Spectrum, which has opened a new 6,500m2 (70,000ft2) assembly test and certification building at its development centre in Utah. The company is also moving its global headquarters from near San Diego to a larger facility at Palomar airport in Carlsbad, California.
Germany's Grob Aerospace, which lost its second SPn light jet prototype in a fatal crash, is pursuing an aggressive certification schedule for its all-composite aircraft. The third prototype, being built to the same aerodynamic standard as the second test aircraft, is poised to join the flight-test programme.
A fourth aircraft - which will be fully conforming - is under construction and this will be followed into flight testing by the first series production aircraft. European and US certification are earmarked for the first and second quarter of 2008.
This timeframe is likely to coincide with the assembly of the first ATG Javelin two-seat jet prototype, which has accumulated eight flights. The formal certification is also scheduled to get under way around the same timeframe. Meanwhile, work on defining the finalised configuration of the production version continues.
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Source: Flight International
