Now it's personal as recession fight-back begins

Tightened development budgets have slowed or killed single-engine personal jet debuts. Investment means survival and a chance to confirm pilot enthusiasm for this new category of jet aircraft. Slowly there are signs of things improving.

Diamond Aircraft and Piper have re-started their climb to market entry. Cirrus Aircraft seeks a similar boost as it directs every available dollar into perfecting its next SF50 prototype, and Stratos Aircraft hopes to announce a manufacturing location for its 714 by late July.

The Eclipse 400 prototype still flies over Albuquerque under the latest incarnation. Eclipse says it may one day start E400 production after its Eclipse 500 twin-engine jet is more firmly established.

Epic Air’s entire line-up is grounded after bankruptcy last summer. Its single-engined Victory may live again. Potential that nearly led to a 2007 purchase by the owner of Kingfisher Airlines has piqued interest from China ’s AVIC General Aircraft, which offered $4.3 million to buy Epic’s assets from the court.

Introduction of the FJ-33 engine from Williams International allowed this new sector to emerge between general and business aviation, and Diamond’s D-Jet was first to fly on April 18, 2006. President Peter Maurer has no doubt the D-Jet will be certified and delivered first as well. “This will be a milestone aircraft, much the same as a Bell JetRanger was a milestone aircraft and a Cessna Skyhawk was a milestone aircraft.”

He’s pleased full development is restarting thanks to US$110 million from investors he can’t yet name. “It’s a combination of equity investment, internal investment and some government loans that make up the money we need to finish the program,” he said.

In London , Ontario , the fourth $1.9 million five-seat D-Jet could begin flight-testing in September and the fifth in December. Each is powered by a Williams FJ33-5A and that upgrade was one cause for delay.

“We didn’t want to bring the aircraft to market with the originally selected powerplant, knowing at some point we would need to upgrade it. It was unanimously received by customers as something they desire,” Maurer said. 

The real trouble came when German engine-maker Thielert crumbled and took its diesel powerplant with it, leaving Diamond with an abundance of undeliverable airframes and a sudden need to create Austro engines. Diamond was again a diesel pioneer, but its new engine cost 52 million Euros. 

Success in Diamond’s first search for outside funding is fuelling flight tests and tweaking the design, such as the final engine air inlets that curve just over each wing. “It’s a sophisticated system that took a lot of resources but it actually worked out really well,” said Maurer.

More than 300 customers are waiting, and most agreed to pay $1.38 million in July 2006. The current price, which Maurer expects to hold into next year, is $1.89 million. He said new delivery date targets revealed this summer will be earlier than Piper’s revised first delivery target in summer 2013.

PiperJets sell for $2.199 million and offer a service ceiling of 11,000m rather than 7,600 and roughly the same 1,300nm range of the D-Jet. Its Williams FJ44-3AP sits firmly between the fuselage and the dorsal fin and, as of last May, is powered by Brunei investments and ownership under the firm Imprimus.

The order book is holding steady through the recession at 205, said spokesperson Mark Miller.

“The proof-of-concept aircraft has flown more than 350 hours and has almost completed all planned aerodynamic testing,” explained Miller. “We recently successfully completed our preliminary design review and are now actively working on detail design for the production aircraft.”

Structural testing of the conforming prototype starts next year and flight tests of that model are planned by the end of 2011.

Imprimus approved adding 60 engineers to Piper’s team in Vero Beach , Florida .

Orders for the Cirrus SF50 are steady at 428, said jet sales director Gary Black, though 60 new orders were placed since September. “I’ve had people who needed to cancel and step out, so I’ve resold their position,” Black explained. “New jet position deposits are $50,000 and non refundable, and this locks in a maximum starting price of $1.72 Million.”   

The price of each SF50 went up on January 1. The SF50 remains Cirrus’s primary development project with more than 300 flight hours and 400 hours of engine testing. “We are preparing for icing testing now. We have put boots on the wings and tail, and the heated inlet duct on the engine, and we have a TKS sprayer on the windscreen,” said Black.

The SF50 “Vision” aims to be the “lowest and slowest” jet available. Like the PiperJet, it will feature Garmin’s new G3000 integrated avionics suite. Unlike Piper, Cirrus isn’t releasing certification or delivery targets as it scrapes for development funds and assures customers and suppliers alike that it will emerge from tough times.

Last summer founder and former chairman Alan Klapmeier tried and failed to buy the SF50 away from Cirrus, claiming the Duluth , Minnesota manufacturer couldn’t afford a proper programme. His departure led co-founder Dale Klapmeier to become chairman and give assurances on the health of the programme and the company.

Cirrus had to fight off allegations of impending bankruptcy with a lawsuit against L-3 Communications, which was dropped on April 1. “L-3 appeared to be creating dissent amongst our supply base,” said international sales vice president Ian Bentley. “The restraining order you saw us file was us asking them not to do that,” he explained, adding that L-3’s initial lawsuit against Cirrus continues, following a scuttled deal to offer SmartDeck avionics.

Cirrus’s ownership by Arcapita and the government of Bahrain has always been to promote aircraft development for one and to be a profitable re-sale for the other, and if Arcapita finds a buyer for Cirrus Aircraft no one will be surprised.

Landing and taking off from grass runways is still a project goal for Cirrus, but not for the Stratos 714.

It’s too heavy, said Stratos Aircraft president and CEO Alexander Craig. He’s not announcing a target for first flight or which milestones await the young programme, although the company has announced a Williams International FJ44-3AP will power the $2 million four-seat jet.

The avionics choice is down to two options, Craig said. “I polled every one of the customers,” he added, choosing to withhold the number of customers.

Stratos is finding investment, he stated, and the refundable deposit programme announced last July has attracted “several” orders. “We just reduced the minimum deposit to place an order from $50,000 to $10,000,” Craig said. “Development is moving along as fast as we can move it. I am going to shortly authorise construction of serial number one aircraft and I’m hoping to make that announcement at Oshkosh , in July.”

At that massive general aviation show he may also announce a manufacturing location. It depends “on the economic incentives that we receive from each particular locale and their associated governments”, he explained. “Money talks.”

The current base in Bend , Oregon , is on the same runway as the former Epic Air and Columbia Aircraft, which was bought and closed by Cessna. “I hope I get a call from (Cessna president and CEO) Jack Pelton making me an offer I can’t refuse.”

Aggressive offers to sell these jets are waiting for certification and customers in the Middle East and North Africa will be pursued after US owners.

Piper’s Miller said: “We do not currently have an order for a customer based in the Middle East or North Africa .”

Agreements to establish regional Piper dealers and service centres could be in place by the end of the year. While the PiperJet has not yet flown around sand, Miller said: “The high engine placement on the PiperJet gives us a very high degree of foreign object damage protection.”

Maurer predicted a strong Middle Eastern presence for the D-Jet. “We don't have that yet, but we consider it an important market,” he said. “We do expect to have a strong presence at the Dubai air show next year.”