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| Excel-jet is planning a sales offensive for the Sport-Jet at July's AirVenture show in Oshkosh |
Excel-Jet flew its four-seat Sport-Jet for the first time on 11 May from its Colorado Springs base and is preparing to kick-start a marketing and sales offensive for the single-engine microjet at July’s AirVenture show in Oshkosh.
The $1 million Williams FJ33-4-powered aircraft is scheduled to begin US Federal Aviation Administration FAR 23 initial flight tests by the end of the month, with full certification earmarked for May 2008. The aircraft is targeted mainly at the owner-flyer market, pitched against Diamond Aircraft’s D-Jet, but the company says it also “has potential as an unmanned and reconnaissance aircraft”.
Excel-Jet is planning to establish a sales and distribution network once it has gained a foothold in the US market. “We are talking to a number of companies who can assemble the aircraft for a global region,” it says. “We may also appoint around five maintenance and servicing centres per region.”
The privately-owned company has secured commitments to fund the programme through to certification. “We need to build around 50 aircraft a year to break even, which we plan to do in 2008,” says Excel-Jet. “Our aim is to produce around 150 aircraft from 2009.”
The aircraft will be built in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where Excel-Jet has been awarded a $3.5 million incentive package from the local and state governments. The Sport-Jet will have a 340kt (630km/h) cruise speed at 25,000ft (11,300m), and will carry four people 1,670km (900nm).
Source: Flight International
