Echoing its presentation Wednesday evening to an excited crowd of future jet owners, Cirrus Design debuted its personal jet on Thursday at its headquarters in Duluth, Minnesota.

The single-engine jet, called “the-jet” by an affectionate and proud Cirrus team, sports a Williams International FJ33 engine mounted high and forward on the fuselage and backed by a streamlined V-tail. The five-plus-seat jet features dual cabin doors far enough forward to allow for pilot entry straight into the cockpit - a design concept deemed vital by Cirrus co-founder Alan Klapmeier.

Although specifications were few, the-jet is projected to adhere to performance criteria that places it among the lightest of business jets in speed and range, yet retain short-field performance more akin to a turboprop. The time frame for the first prototype and eventual production is still three to five years out, but Klapmeier reiterated that the goal was to keep the-jet priced in a way to expand the market—whether that will keep to original goals around $1 million depends heavily on the investment and time required to get there.

Click here to recommend this blog:

GREENSBORO, N.C., June 27 (PRNewswire) — Honda Aircraft Company, Inc. (HACI), today took the next major step toward delivering HondaJet into the hands of its customers, by breaking ground for its new 369,000 square foot headquarters and manufacturing facility at Piedmont Triad International (PTI) airport in Greensboro, North Carolina.

“By breaking ground for this new Honda Aircraft facility today, we take the next important step in getting HondaJets into the skies tomorrow,” said Michimasa Fujino, president & CEO of Honda Aircraft Company, Inc. “With the warm reception we have received in the Triad, and the great response HondaJet has received from our customers, we are confident of a very bright future here in North Carolina.”

HACI will manage the research, development, sales, marketing and manufacturing* of the advanced light jet, HondaJet, at the new facility, which will replace the company’s existing 32,000 square foot hangar and office complex at PTI. Phase one of construction will be completed in Spring 2008, and will consist of approximately 219,000 square feet of offices, research facilities and an airplane hangar. The HondaJet production facility, measuring approximately 150,000 square feet, is currently in the design phase. HACI plans to begin deliveries of HondaJet to customers in 2010.

Investment for construction of the headquarters and production facility will be about $100 million including equipment. Total Honda Aircraft Company employment, including all engineering, sales and marketing, manufacturing and support activities, will increase to approximately 350 associates once the manufacturing plant reaches full production.

In addition, the company anticipates that about 90 percent of HondaJet’s component parts will be supplied by companies in the U.S. and Canada.

HondaJet, Honda’s first-ever commercial aircraft, lives up to the company’s reputation for dynamic performance together with superior efficiency, delivering class-topping cruise speed and fuel efficiency, greater luggage capacity and a more spacious cabin with seating for up to eight people, compared to other products in the very light jet (VLJ) class.

All major assembly and testing of the prototype HondaJet has been conducted at the company’s existing Greensboro facility, which opened in 2001 as an extension of Honda’s global R&D operations. The HondaJet production facility will become Honda’s seventeenth major manufacturing plant in North America, including two currently under construction in Indiana and Ontario, Canada. Honda already has a $188 million North Carolina manufacturing facility, near Swepsonville, that has been producing general purpose engines, lawn mowers and other power equipment products since 1984.

Click here to recommend this blog:

PiperJet said this week they have eliminated Tallahassee, FL, and Columbia, SC, from their list of manufacturing locations for the new PiperJet VLJ. Remaining locations include Vero Beach, FL, Albuquerque, NM, and Oklahoma City, OK, according to the Associated Press.

“Despite their strengths, Columbia and Tallahassee did not compare as favorably as competing cities when we considered some of our key location criteria, such as a more established aviation sector and a ready work force,” the company said.

There is fierce competition for the plant, which will employ an estimated 1500 people.

As ANN has reported, the Vero Beach proposal package tops out at $50 million and includes such incentives as purchasing Piper’s existing facilities and leasing it back to the company and building a new facility for building the PiperJet, along with the impact fees associated with the construction and possibly a reduced utility rate, said Helene Caseltine, economic development director for the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce.

New Mexico is just as serious. Acting secretary of economic development Kelly O’Donnell has said the state has “an arsenal” of incentives it is authorized to offer including industrial revenue bonds, a program to provide reimbursement for certain training costs, and tax credits for providing high wage jobs and on the value of equipment they bring into the state.

“I will tell you that we are clearly very, very interested in Piper and we would be delighted if they were to choose New Mexico as a site for their facility,” said O’Donnell. “We feel we present a very competitive package, and clearly New Mexico is becoming increasingly desirable as a place to do business.”

Vero Beach, Piper’s home base since 1957, is pleased with the announcement. The city council voted unanimously Thursday to approve a $76.5 million incentive package for Piper, according to the Treasure Coast Palm.

“We feel pretty good about this and we’re certainly very optimistic,” said Vero Beach City Manager Jim Gabbard.

Click here to recommend this blog:

The startup companies that manufacture very light jets or provide on-demand air taxi services announced last week that they have formed their own trade association. Companies running on demand air taxi flights expect to benefit from travelers tired of the legacy hub and spoke system.

The Air Taxi Association, announced at Esther Dyson’s Flight School conference here, is based in Atlanta, instead of the traditional trade association home of Washington, D.C.

“We are not a lobbying organization,” Joe Leader, the association’s president, said on Thursday. “We are not focused on governmental issues.”

Rather, it’s intended to be a standards-setting body, as well as to act as a liaison with airports interested in attracting air taxi services.

Click here to recommend this blog:

“I’m a very proud papa right now,” beamed Epic Aircraft CEO Rick Schrameck this week. This jet will absolutely ‘eclipse’ anything else that’s out there, and that’s a promise!”

This past week, Epic Aircraft, headquartered in Bend, Ore., rolled out its sleek-looking, carbon fiber-made Elite, a six to seven passenger very light jet, powered by two Williams International FJ-33-4 engines, and conducted a first test flight that lasted for 40 minutes.

According to Epic, the Elite jet is scheduled to go into certification testing, in Canada, soon.
Epic said the Elite VLJ, forecast for certification in 2009, delivers 3,120 pounds of thrust, reaches 41,000 feet in less than 17 minutes, and its economy cruise is more than 1,600 miles with reserves and has 1,330 pounds of usable payload after fuel.

The Elite’s cockpit will house state-of-the-art all-glass Garmin G900X panels, and the jet will be RVSM (reduced vertical separation minimum) compliant.

Company test pilots Dave Morss and Len Fox pushed the aircraft’s control surfaces and low-level performance capabilities. Fox, reluctant to deliver the Elite back, boasted that the jet actually flew better than expected. “The Elite is just one of those aircraft.” he said.

Click here to recommend this blog:

DayJet Corporation, the air-taxi startup by entrepreneur Ed Iacobucci, is preparing to start operations late July or early August according to the company’s website.

The launch had been delayed for a number of months because it took longer than expected to obtain the very light jets (VLJ), produced by Eclipse Aviation.

The VLJ seats three or four passengers. DayJet’s is planning to provide flights on demand around Florida. Customers with a flexible schedule will pay less. Those who need to leave immediately will pay more.

AirTaxiFlights.com will continue to update the progress of DayJet’s launch this Summer.

Click here to recommend this blog: