Sino Swearingen Outsources SJ30-2 Construction

The Aerostructures Corporation of Nashville, Tennessee, has agreed to build the primary structure for the Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 business jet now under development.

The agreement is valued at $300 million over the life of the program, which requires Aerostructures to provide the wing assemblies and fuselage for the new entry-level design.

Sino-Swearingen will take delivery of the components at its plant in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where final assembly of the aircraft is planned.

The future of the SJ30-2 program is assured, Sino Swearingen says, due to a new investment from its primary benefactor since 1994, Taiwan Aerospace. The exact figure isn't public knowledge, though Sino Swearingen said amid layoffs in April that $100 million was needed to keep the program alive.

The first conforming SJ30-2 prototype flew on November 30, 2000. Five airframes are slated to enter the SJ30-2 certification test program-three flying aircraft, a static test article, and an additional airframe for structural fatigue testing.

Sino Swearingen claims 175 orders for the seven-place jet, which is earmarked for single-pilot operations. Design goals include an NBAA IFR range of 2,500 nmi, 550 mph-plus top speed, and a maximum altitude of 49,000 feet.

Aerostructures already builds the wings for the Gulfstream IV-SP, and wing components for Airbus, Boeing, BAE Systems' RJX regional jet, and the Cessna Citation X. Military programs include the empennage for the Lockheed Martin C-130 transport, and the empennage, ramp and door for the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.