Very Light Jets Preparing For Takeoff In The U.S.

A new breed of general aviation aircraft known as the very light jet is poised to make corporate-owned aircraft more affordable and widespread, proponents and manufacturers said. With a price tag ranging from less than $1 million to $3 million, the first entrants in the emerging category this year will take to the skies. In the coming years, very light jets could become a fixture of U.S. airspace, but detractors claim their proliferation could further strain a congested aviation system.

In addition to lower costs compared with other aircraft, very light jets typically seat between three and six passengers and require only one pilot and shorter runways.

Despite detractors, the very light jet market is expected to boom. Market research firm PMI Media last week released a study examining the six dominant manufacturers of very light jets, noting that the market would be worth $2.5 billion during the next five years, with nearly 1,500 very light jets entering the aviation sector in that time.

"There are now six programs which look set to make it to the market," said the report's author, Philip Butterworth-Hayes. "Based on manufacturers' own production figures, we see annual delivery rates rising steadily to 2010 and peaking at around 350 to 400 units a year."

The report shows that 85 percent of the customer demand is coming from North America, with significant interest from Florida, where "the VLJ-based air taxi concept will live or die."

Such manufacturers as Cessna, Eclipse, Embraer and Honda, among others, are gearing up to enter the marketplace, all noting confirmed orders and growing interest. In the past month, those manufacturers furthered plans to bring their wares to the marketplace. Eclipse Aviation has been the leader in securing customer orders, expecting to deliver 2,500 orders in the next few years, the company said, with its first aircraft expected to go into service this year. As one of its final moves toward launching the aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration late last month gave approval to Eclipse Aviation to move forward with its Eclipse 500, which the company said it would soon start delivering to customers. Dole Food Co. and affiliate Castle & Cooke are among the first corporate adopters with an order for three Eclipse 500s.

FAA last month also certified Cessna Aircraft Co.'s Citation Mustang, "the first of a new class of entry-level business jets to win FAA-type certification," the company noted. At the National Business Aviation Association show in Orlando last week, Cessna said that it has moved from the development stage and is "ramping up for production and customer deliveries" for the Citation Mustang.

Cessna expects to deliver its first aircraft later this year, as 21 Citation Mustangs currently are in production. The company said it expects to deliver about 40 of the aircraft next year, "moving toward full-rate production in 2008."

Meanwhile, Honda recently announced its plans to enter into the business aviation marketplace with its HondaJet, and last week the company began taking orders for the new offering. The company formed an alliance with Piper Aircraft Inc. "to collaborate on sales and service, and to explore opportunities in engineering and other areas within general and business aviation," the company said in a statement.

The HondaJet will seat up to six passengers and travel at a land speed of 483 miles per hour with a range of 1,434 miles. Honda said the prototype of the jet has reached an altitude of 43,000 feet. "Aviation has been an important dream of Honda for more than four decades," said Satoshi Toshida, senior managing director of Honda Motor Co., in a statement. "Our goal is consistent with the philosophy of other Honda products—to provide convenient and efficient transportation that will make people's lives better. We are excited now to enter a new dimension of mobility."

Meanwhile, Adam Aircraft said its A700 AdamJet is in the midst of flight tests and development, and the carrier expects its very light jet to enter the marketplace next year, costing about $2.1 million apiece. The company said it has more than 85 confirmed orders for the A700. Embraer expects deliveries of its Phenom 100 to begin in mid-2008, estimating an annual delivery rate of up to 150 aircraft once in full production. Diamond Aircraft—the most affordable of the very light jets at less than $1 million—is expected to enter into service in 2008.

The Air Transport Association, which lobbies on behalf of the largest commercial airliners in the United States and often has butted heads with the general aviation sector, has brandished some criticism of the expected proliferation of very light jets. ATA in public statements has said very light jets would impose a burden on the aviation system and interfere with commercial airline operations.

ATA in a statement before the Senate Commerce Committee last month said the expected proliferation of very light jets would further strain the U.S. aviation sector. "Integrating VLJs into the current air traffic control system will present challenges for FAA and existing users. VLJs will be incompatible with existing aircraft using high-altitude airspace because they cruise at significantly slower speeds. Introducing VLJs into these routes is analogous to allowing tractors on a freeway. Air traffic controllers would be faced with an increased level of complexity. This increasingly complex environment translates into increased controller workload, leading to excessive and inefficient aircraft separation."

NBAA president Ed Bolen in a statement chided ATA for its stance on very light jets. "The development of VLJ aircraft is good news on many levels," Bolen said. "Their introduction produces high-skill manufacturing jobs. They will help make many small and midsized companies more competitive, and they will strengthen aviation services for many small communities. Those benefits should be the focus of discussion about VLJs."

Furthermore, FAA associate administrator for aviation safety Nicholas Sabatini in Senate Commerce Committee testimony last month said in regard to very light jets, "The system is in place today to accommodate the entry of new aircraft into the National Airspace System."

While FAA already has granted approval for several operators and has testified to its support for very light jets, some expect European regulators to put up more resistance. "It is likely that European regulators will adopt a distinctly conservative approach to the licensing of very light jets for both owner/operator and revenue-generating services" said PMI Media's Butterworth-Hayes.