Kate Sarsfield/LONDON
Safire Aircraft's S-26 twin-engined personal business jet is sold out for the first year of production. The manufacturer has received more than 200 orders in just four months.
Safire president Michael Margaritoff says: "We had a tremendous reply, mostly from pilots who put down deposits for the S-26. We proceeded with a limited test-marketing programme and, to our surprise, we were flooded with orders.
"We are now offering second-year delivery."
Margaritoff forecasts a market for up to 1,000 S-26s within the next decade as personal aircraft become a publicly accepted and cost-efficient form of transport. "We are producing an affordable, conventional, twin-engined aircraft, the like of which people have been wanting for decades," Margaritoff says.
The Williams FJX-2-powered twinjet will offer a maximum range of 3,000km (1,600nm), a cruise speed of 360kt (670km/h) and maximum take-off weight of 2,050kg (4,500lb).
The company says that the $800,000 aircraft will be "more than four times less expensive than the Cessna Citation CJ1, comparable in weight and cost to high-end piston aircraft, nearly match the speed and comfort of entry-level business jets and have lower operating costs than a single-engine turboprop".
Margaritoff believes demand for the six-seat S-26 will be stimulated further by the improvements in avionics and powerplant technology and airport infrastructure, particularly in the USA.
"Within 15 years, we foresee a market for up to 2,000 S-26s driven by a fundamental need for people to be transported safely and efficiently," he says.
Safire has begun computer-aided design work on the S-26 at its base in West Palm Beach, Florida, and the company is planning the maiden flight of the first of four prototypes - three flying and one static - for 2002.
Margaritoff adds: "We have secured a substantial portion of the projected $150 million needed to fund the S-26 through to construction of the first prototype by a combination of private investment and public offerings."
Certification and first deliveries of the personal business jet are planned for 2003.
Source: Flight International
