An Abbreviated Show Still Sees
Display of New Aircraft Models

Maybe it's force of habit. This year's NBAA gathering, albeit smaller than anyone thought late this past summer, still features the debut of at least three significant new aircraft models: Adam Aircraft's M-309 CarbonAero turboprop; Embraer's Legacy, which marks the Brazilian regional aircraft specialist's first foray into business jets; and Bombardier's Continental super-mid.

"Fly in the face of the status quo," says Denver-based Adam Air. Indeed, the firm's M-309 is by far the most radical of the three new aircraft, boasting a Burt Rutan-designed, pressurized composite structure and twin, in-line engines.

The six-place airplane is designed to cruise at 220 knots with a range of more than 1,500 nautical miles. On the eve of NBAA Adam Air said it had three more delivery positions priced at $750,000, after which the price would rise to $775,000.

The M-309 will have two 350-hp Teledyne Continental TSIO 550 piston engines with FADEC. The company, with secure financial backing from founder and CEO Rick Adam, is targeting May for the first flight of its second aircraft, and 2003 for certification. John Knudsen is president.

Marking a new market for its builder is Legacy, Embraer's $19.8 million jet designed to compete with far more expensive Falcons and Gulfstreams. The aircraft was to have made its world debut here, but since September has been shown in Dubai and at a new business aircraft show in Brazil.

The up-to-19-passenger (in corporate shuttle configuration) Legacy is being touted as "the business jet for the new economy." It's here with one of four available executive interiors from Nordam, while a full-scale mock-up shows a recessed-floor, higher-ceilinged option.

Embraer claims 44 firm orders and 48 options for Legacy. It can fly New York-London non-stop and New York-São Paulo with one stop, competitive with the G-IV.

Bombardier's new offering here is the Continental, which made its first flight in mid-August.

Bombardier is targeting 30% of a super-midsize business jet market it pegs at nearly 1,300 units over the next ten years with the $14.675 million super-mid. Low DOC, projected at about $940 per hour for the Continental, will be a key selling point.