As with any nascent aerospace sector, the VLJ category has its fair share of prospective winners and losers, and the fate of most of them will probably be decided in the next year or so.
One of the better prospects is Diamond Aircraft's D-Jet. The Wiener-Neustadt, Austria-based company has 186 orders for its very light jet, which is due to start ground tests in September. Assuming these are successful, the test aircraft will be disassembled and transported to Diamond's Canadian factory in London, Ontario, where flight tests are to begin by the end of the year. US certification for the $1 million, single-pilot, five-seat aircraft is expected in 2007.
Adam Aircraft continues to pursue development of its A700 twin-turbofan VLJ, despite certification delays and a gear collapse during testing of its A500 piston twin, from which the VLJ version is being derived. This year, the Williams International FJ33 turbofans on the first A700 were returned to the manufacturer to be upgraded with dual-channel full-authority digital engine control and other changes to ensure full conformance with the FJ33-4A-15 standard certificated last year. The aircraft has since re-entered flight testing with the upgraded engines and is being pressurised to allow testing to higher altitudes.
Adam has also announced plans to build two more A700s to complete development and certification, and expects to begin deliveries of the aircraft – originally scheduled for certification in mid-2003 – in 2006. It has also announced plans to open a facility in Ogden, Utah to manufacture and assemble both the piston- and turbofan-powered versions, operating in parallel with its Denver plant.
Less definite news has come from Safire Aircraft, which was attempting to resume stalled development of its Safire Jet VLJ project by raising additional funding from an Italian investment group. Although the US Department of Homeland Security finally authenticated the company's new investor in January after protracted investigations, the current status of Safire is uncertain.
It is a similar story for the Avocet ProJet VLJ, which suffered what is widely considered a terminal blow in April when Raytheon Aircraft opted not to become a partner in the venture with Israel Aircraft Industries. IAI, which was to have been responsible for certification and production of the ProJet, had already warned it would not back the effort without a similar commitment from another big manufacturer, and it is therefore believed to have lapsed.
However, IAI is very much behind Aviation Technology Group (ATG), which is poised to conduct the first flight of the two-seat Javelin by the end of May. ATG has 101 orders for the FJ33-powered VLJ, which is being developed as a personal jet and a military trainer. The Colorado-based company has raised about $100 million to support the project, some of it from IAI, which is supporting development of the military version. ATG has also launched an effort to raise $100 million to complete certification by the end of 2007. A further boost came this year when Lockheed Martin agreed a deal to use the Javelin as part of a possible offset deal in Poland, further raising ATG's credibility as a long-term survivor.
GUY NORRIS/LOS ANGELES
Source: Flight International
