Kate Sarsfield/LONDON
Safire Aircraft has secured over 700 orders and deposits for its six-seat, twin-engined S-26 personal jet, despite suffering a major setback earlier this year when its former powerplant supplier Williams International signed an exclusive deal with rival aircraft manufacturer Eclipse Aviation to develop a competing aircraft powered by the FJX-2 turbofan.
The Florida-based company has since appointed powerplant manufacturer Agilis Engines to supply its TF-800 model.
Safire president Michael Margaritoff says: "We are still on schedule to receive certification in August 2003 and are now seeking around $150 million to fund the aircraft through to first delivery."
In September, Safire withdrew its planned $25 million initial public offering, replacing it with a new debt and equity financing strategy. Margaritoff concedes: "Raising funds has been slow. Our goal is to secure $33 million to get the aircraft flying. Once we have done that we are confident of securing the remainder of the investment." Margaritoff says Safire has received 4,100 purchase requests on the company's website.
Safire is also seeking risk-sharing partners to offset the high cost of development. "We will only undertake final assembly ourselves and are looking to base the factory in a US state which offers the best [financial] incentives," he says.
Preliminary design of the S-26, the first in a family of light jets planned by Safire, is nearing completion and detailed design is scheduled to begin early next year. "We plan to build the first of four prototypes [three flying and one static] in May 2001, with the first flight set for August the following year," he says.
Performance targets include a cruise speed of 330kt (610km/h), a service ceiling of 37,000ft (11,200m) and an instrument flight rules range of 1,400nm (2,600km). The S-26 price tag will be determined following its first flight next year, but Safire anticipates offering the aircraft at around $800,000.
Margaritoff expects strong demand for the S-26 and regards Eclipse Aviation's entry into the personal jet market as a "blessing". He says: "There is plenty of room for the Eclipse 500 and the S-26. We plan to build two production lines which, based on our conservative estimates, will produce up to 1,150 aircraft [combined] in the fourth year of production."
Margaritoff admits there was a mixed reaction initially to Safire's tie-up with Agilis, but believes the new partnership is more flexible. He concedes: "A large, established company like Williams, can often be unwilling to adapt their engine design with that of the aircraft".
The S-26's TF-800 engine, a direct result of NASA's General Aviation Propulsion programme, is a high-bypass turbofan, rated at 800lb (3.5kN) thrust. Initial test runs are set to begin early next year.
Source: Flight International
