GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
After selecting Williams FJ33 powerplant, S-26 manufacturer hopes to beat rivals to market
Safire Aircraft has selected Williams International's FJ33 turbofan to power its S-26, and claims it will be first to market with a personal jet. US certification has been set for the end of 2005, with deliveries to begin in the first quarter of 2006, says chief executive Calmilo Salomon.
Meanwhile, Eclipse Aviation has delayed certification and first deliveries of its Eclipse 500 by 25 months to the first quarter of 2006 after selecting the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F turbofan to replace the Williams EJ22s originally powering the aircraft (Flight International, 25 February-3 March). Cessna plans to certificate its PW615F-powered Citation Mustang entry-level jet in mid-2006 and begin customer deliveries by the end of that year.
Safire has selected the derated, 1,100lb-thrust (4.9kN) FJ33-4, scheduled to be certificated by year-end. First flight of a "company conforming" S-26 prototype is planned for February 2004, says Salomon, followed by three certification flight-test aircraft. The West Palm Beach, Florida-based company plans to have contracts signed with airframe, avionics, landing gear and other system suppliers by the end of March. Announcement of a final-assembly site is imminent, he says, with three cities in Florida and two in Texas in contention.
Safire is stepping up activity after signing a deal in November with a Swiss private investment syndicate committed to funding the programme through to first flight. At that point position holders will be required to make a down payment to convert their deposits to firm orders. "We will raise $90 million three months after first flight," says Salomon. Safire holds deposits on 722 aircraft, and expects to reach first flight "with at least 1,100 orders", he says.
Safire has increased performance estimates for the S-26 to reflect its engine choice. Maximum cruise speed is 340kt (630km/h), ceiling 37,000ft (11,300m) and range 1,850km (1,000nm) with four occupants. Price "will be over $1 million", says Salomon. The Eclipse is priced at $950,000 for the first 2,200 aircraft and $1.175 million thereafter, while the larger Mustang sells for $2.6 million.
Eclipse plans to resume flight testing of its first prototype in April using surrogate engines, and to fly the first five PW610F-powered certification-test aircraft in late 2004. Delays and design changes have doubled the amount of money that must still be raised to take the Eclipse 500 into production, to around $180 million, says chief executive Vern Raburn, but the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company expects fewer than 5% of the 2,100 orders to be cancelled.
Cessna holds deposits on more than 300 Mustangs, which it plans to begin converting to firm orders after it has selected an avionics supplier and completed definition of the aircraft.
Source: Flight International
