Second Farnborough F1 All-Composite Turboprop Sold to UK Customer

The second Farnborough F1 all-composite turboprop single has been sold, on the Internet, to a UK customer at the asking price of $2 million, according to British manufacturer Farnborough-Aircraft.com. Delivery will be in for delivery in 2004.

This follows the first sale, in early September, also to a UK buyer. And all despite the fact that the company has yet to put in place a sales and marketing force.

Richard Noble, OBE, CEO of Farnborough-Aircraft.com and famous for heading the British Thrust SST team which took the World Land Speed Record beyond the sound barrier, is buoyant about his latest project.

"We were the first aviation company to use the Internet for funding a new aircraft", he told Show News. "Money is rolling in at the rate of $225,000 a month from members of 'The Farnborough Air Force'-our online supporters club-and it is going to expand. Another 20 people have joined within the last few days." Estimated cost of developing and certificating the F1 is about $38.5 million.

During a recent trip to the U.S. Noble was able to sign-up first-tier manufacturing suppliers for the aircraft. "But," he explained, "we won't be attending the NBAA show this year. Our commitment is to get the airplane right and not to push for sales at this stage. This is a global project incorporating global suppliers. We are still finalizing the design of the engine intake and running wind tunnel tests to confirm the results. This work has to be finished first, as it will affect the shape of the first fuselage plug, which is to be the first chunk of the aircraft built. We should achieve this around the time of NBAA. However, we hope to be there next year."

The PT6A-60A-powered, five-passenger F1 is aimed at air taxi operations, using small airports to provide an on-demand service for businessmen seeking relief from the stresses of busy hub airports. According to Noble, F1 passengers will be able to book flights on the Internet, accessing a fleet of operators covering a wide geographic area.

In the U.S., Noble expects the F1 to be operated single-pilot. He foresees a situation where the airplane may be carrying just one passenger and-subject to that customer's agreement-may make en route stops to pick up other travelers who want to fly in the same direction-an airborne equivalent of cab-sharing.

Noble says his 'hub-buster' F1, which can operate from 2,000-foot runways, will be able to serve some 7,800 under-utilized airfields around the U.S., Canada and Europe. Opening up these airfields to all-weather use will be achieved by using GPS approach systems, thus minimizing investment by airport operators, he contends.

Work is to start soon at the company's Farnborough, UK, site on the fuselage plug for the first of three prototype F1s. First flight is expected in 2002, with FAR/JAR 23 certification slated early 2003.