As
every year, the NBAA Convention has attracted the broadest possible
cross-section of aircraft meeting the broadest possible interpretation of the word
"business." Indeed, there is a rapidly growing contingent of sophisticated
machines pitched at the owner/business pilot and, in addition, significant
growth in the sector aimed at that even more niche market, the home
constructor/owner/business pilot.
This
market survey concentrates on the newcomers and hopefuls: at the booths, in the
static show . . . or making plans to debut next year. Each description
includes Show News' estimation of the aircraft's chances of capturing a viable market share.
Props, Turboprops and Rotorprops
Those
who regard the propeller as passé will find their position untenable after a review of
the diverse configurations gracing drawing boards and flight test hangars
around the globe. Unfortunately, market prospects are often inversely
proportional to innovative features, though that did not deter Orville and
Wilbur. Prompted by a different fuel tax philosophy, Europe's fascination for
diesel power is apparent in those aircraft originating on the Old World and/or
destined for service in the Third.
Adam
A500
Adam
Aircraft Industries is now emerging from a high-risk period in which it had a
related twin-prop and twin-jet under flight development, but no deliveries
under way. On May 11, 2005, the FAA granted day VFR certification to the A500,
the first customer machine taking to the air in June and appearing at EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh the next month. By that time Adam had achieved 59 sales at
$1.15 million apiece, guaranteeing production up to 4Q2006.
While
not the most avant garde of Burt Rutan's designs, the Toray carbon composite airframe boasts an
uncommon push/pull configuration for its two 350-hp Continental TSIO-550
flat-sixes; consequent twin tailbooms; and a wing aspect ratio of nearly 11.
Pressurised accommodation seats six, and the A500 will traverse more than 1,200
miles at a 288 mph cruise. Three-screen Avidyne EFIS is standard, with Garmin
and S-Tec filling in the details. Direct operating cost is $274 per hour, says
Adam.
Verdict:
Very likely
Aerocomp
CA-12
This
is a step up from the Comp Air range of single-engine STOL utility aircraft
that owners can co-build at the company's Florida works to qualify for
Experimental category, 51% rules. Strongly based on an already-flown jet
design, the eight/12-seater is all carbon fiber and powered by a 1,400-shp
Lycoming T53 turboprop turning a five-blade propeller. Target performance
includes 316 mph top speed and range of 2,800 miles. Cost of the kit, including
engine, is $499,000, but the avionics are extra. Aerocomp expects to fly the
prototype of this pressurized design later this year and will then begin taking
orders.
Verdict:
The jury's out
AIR
Epic LT
When
Aircraft Investor Resources appeared from nowhere at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in
July 2003 promising first flight the following May, few observers would have
placed money on it. But the Epic LT prototype was just three months late —
equating, in the aerospace game, to obsessive punctuality. Disdaining the
trade-offs that have always surrounded aircraft performance, AIR has gone for
"full people, full fuel, full speed" performance assurance. Graceful
of line, with swept back wing leading-edge, the six/seven-place, carbon fiber
aircraft is either a kit with the option of a cost-saving 751 shp Walter M601
turbine, or (from next year) certified airplane sporting a 1,200-shp Pratt
& Whitney Canada PT6A-67. Epic LT offers 333 mph cruising at 30,000 feet
for 1,840 miles, plus a three-screen EFIS or custom avionics, all for $2
million. Those not minding dirty hands will pay $850,000 for the M601 kit or
$1.25 million for the P&WC version kit and take advantage of the
customer-assist program for completion "within months."
Verdict:
Getting there
ATI
RT-700
This
apparent attempt to reinvent the Piaggio Avanti is the first project of California-based
Aviation Technologies International, which is looking for a share of what it
predicts is a 37,000 world market for a high-performance, large cabin, quiet
and luxurious, pressurized twin to replace Piper Aerostars, Beech Barons and
the Cessna 400-series. A leading dissimilarity from its Italian doppelganger
is piston
power: Two 350-hp Continental TSIO-550 pushers are standard, while an
equivalent diesel is being sought for the avgas-challenged. Predicted
high-speed cruise is 303 mph, giving a 1,150-mile range with reserves, at 42
gallons per hour. The seven-seater will sell for $990,000 — the first order was
booked in April 2005 — but will need rapid financing if ATI is to meet the
tight schedule of 2006 first flight and 2007 certification.
Verdict:
Slim chance
Beechcraft
King Air C90GT
It
was no marketing error that the GT version of the evergreen King Air 90 was
announced and unveiled at the EAA's AirVenture in Oshkosh this July.
Appropriately designated, the C90GT is an unashamed "loyalty reward" for the
private owner/pilot who might be seduced by the small jets now coming within
his financial reach. Raytheon Aircraft has replaced the C90B's 550-shp engines
with a pair of PT6A-135As flat-rated to the same power but nominally of 750 shp
each.
Accordingly,
the new aircraft possesses a "near jet" cruising speed 29 mph faster, at 311
mph; can reach 30,000 ft in half the previous time; and has an optimum cruising
altitude 3,000 ft higher, at 18,000 ft. Most other aspects are the same as the
current baseline model, including two-tube Collins EFIS 84 instrument panel.
Price is $2.95 million and first deliveries are imminent.
Verdict:
Very likely
Bell/Agusta
BA609
A
smaller (nine passenger, two crew), civil spin-off from the Bell Boeing V-22
Osprey was announced in 1996, with Italy's Agusta joining the program after
Boeing withdrew two years later. The attraction of a combination of helicopter
landings and airplane-like cruising speeds of some 316 mph resulted in 70
orders being placed between 1997 and 2003, at the then-price of about $9
million. Maiden flight was in March 2003, the decision having been taken a year
previously to slow the program as a consequence of delays with the V-22, which
is leading the technology.
Target
certification date is 2008, although up to this June the prototype had
accumulated a mere 20 hours towards the 3,000 needed for FAA sign-off. In this,
it will be assisted by three further machines, the next of which will fly (in
Italy) shortly. Propulsion comes from two 1,940 shp PT6C turboshafts turning 26
ft diameter proprotors, their wingtip nacelles tilting to provide transition
between airplane and helicopter modes, with a 5 back-tilt for maneuvering.
Despite the slowdown, "about 60" BA609s remain on order, with 30% of
the market in the corporate/VIP sector and an equal number working in offshore
support.
Verdict:
Getting there
Cartercopter
PAV
On
June 17, Jay Carter's CC1 technology demonstrator, working to a US Army
contract, became the first rotor-winged air vehicle of the present era to
exceed Mu=1 in level flight. A convertiplane, which combines wings and pusher
propeller with a rotor which can perform powered, like a helicopter, or
autorotating, like an autogyro, the CC1 thus proved that it can cruise at
airplane speeds despite its rotor freewheeling at slow speed in that regime.
(Mu=1 means the 'retreating' blade is entirely within negative airflow and the
rotor disc is therefore producing lift on only one side — an unstable
condition).
While
military applications abound, Carter and the Georgia Institute of Technology
also received a NASA study contract in 2003 for a personal air vehicle (PAV)
for "rural, regional and intra-urban on-demand transportation."
Offering diminished noise, simplified pilot operations, increased safety and
reduced cost in comparison to a traditional helicopter, the PAV would be able
to cruise for 1,000 miles at 200 mph. Marketing of the glass fiber machine is
expected to be launched in kit form costing some $55,000, not including engine
and avionics.
Verdict:
The jury's out
Ev-At
EV-55
In
the Czech Republic, Evektor-Aerotechnik's thriving business of lightplane
manufacture has allowed it to enter the market for larger machines. Announced
in December 2003, the EV-55 is a seven-seat business twin-turboprop with
alternative employment opportunities as 14-place air taxi or light freighter.
Development is shared by a 17-member consortium, with funding coming from the
offsets program associated with the local air force's purchase of Saab Gripen
fighters. Traditional metal structure is specified in spite of a highly
streamlined profile and high aspect ratio wing. Ev-At will use 550 shp PT6A-21
engines to power the prototype — hopefully in 2007. Estimated cruising speed is 240 mph and, with full 3,086 lb
load, range is an unimpressive 460 miles; a lighter executive payload allows an
increase to 1,674 miles.
Verdict:
Don't hold your breath
Extra
EA-500
The
logical installation of a 450-shp Rolls-Royce 250 turboprop in the slow selling
Extra EA-400 promised to reinvigorate this attractive German airplane.
Retaining the all-composites airframe and roomy, six-place pressurised cabin of
its predecessor, the EA-500 has been dogged by misfortune, beginning with a
forced landing on its third flight and consequent absence from a showcase at
the 2002 Berlin ILA exhibition. Walter Extra made an epic crossing of the North
Atlantic to debut the machine at the NBAA's 2003 Convention at Orlando, by
which time his original company had been bankrupted and re-formed under U.S.
ownership.
Certification
and deliveries of the EA-500 were then due before the end of 2004, but failed
to take place. However, the prototype has recently gained a five-blade,
scimitar-shape MT propeller in place of the more conventional four-blade unit
and demonstrated its long legs by flying 1,500 nmi from Santa Rosa, Calif., to
Duluth, Minn. When certification is achieved, production aircraft will have
Honeywell APEX avionics.
Verdict:
Getting there
FACL
F1
A
perceived vast market for a true call-up-and-fly aerial taxi operating from any
small local airfield was the raison d'tre of the Farnborough F1,
prompting its adoption of a high-lift laminar flow wing and almost totally
composite structure. With an 850-shp derated PT6A, the pressurised F1 will
carry pilot and five passengers over an NBAA range of 950 miles at 259 mph, its
low-speed propeller helping to make it neighborhood-friendly.
After
the original company filed for bankruptcy, Farnborough Aircraft Corp. Ltd.
picked up the baton in 2002, but has enjoyed no greater success. The project
remains active and at one time FACL was predicting a maiden flight in the first
half of this year and certification in 2008. No revised dates have been
announced.
Verdict:
Slim chance
Grob
G 140 and G 160 Ranger
With
two turboprops and a light jet under simultaneous flight test, the German
parent company is going to be tightly stretched to bring all three to market in
timely fashion — if, indeed, those are its intentions. Acerbically dubbed by Show
News at the
time of its surprise unveiling at the 2001 Paris Air Show as "the answer
to an unasked question," the four-seat G 140TP then described itself as a
$1 million aerobatic business turboprop. It continues to appear in company literature, but
has been out of the limelight since a public nosewheel-up landing at Paris in
2003.
Six
seats and carbon fiber airframe characterize the G 160 Ranger, first flown in
March 2004, when a $2.8 million price tag was mentioned. Cruising at 311 mph on
its 850-shp PT6A, the Ranger will transport five passengers in pressurised
comfort across more than 2,000 miles, its pilot benefiting from the latest
Honeywell APEX three-screen displays, beginning with 2007 deliveries
(Bendix/King EFS 40 will do duty meantime). Grob says the Ranger is "faster"
than a jet because it can use shorter runways to get the businessman closer to
where he wants to be. A promised second prototype (2004) has not yet
materialized and neither has the 2Q2005 European certification — a fact possibly
related to the need to increase wing span and area on the production version.
Verdict:
The jury's out
HPA
TT62 Alekto
Launched
in May 2002 by the unlikely combination of an aircraft magazine and the
aviation-minded local government of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, High
Performance Aircraft's TT62 is an innovative design that buries a pair of 306
hp Thielert V-8 Diesel engines in the rear fuselage, from where they drive
pylon-mounted five-blade propellers via shafting and universal joints. Pylons
also act as mounts for coolant radiators. The reduced frontal area aids
aerodynamic efficiency and therefore economy, design targets having included
276 mph cruising at 20,000 ft; 1,024 mile range; and fuel consumption of 21
gallons per hour at normal cruising speed. Structure is carbon fiber, and the
pressurised cabin, with its stylish windows, holds five, including pilot(s).
Maiden flight occurred on February 22, but terminated after 15 minutes,
following which the Alekto is not known to have flown again, pending
"analysis of the discrepancy between calculated and actual flight
data." Continuation of the test program is promised after wing area is
increased, although unofficial sources have noted the cooling system and
general handling as further causes for concern. Last year's price was $590,000;
this year's is $900,000 . . . and rising.
Verdict:
Slim chance
Ibis
Ae 270 Spirit
Optimized
for business and light freighting operations, the Ae 270 Spirit PT6A-powered
turboprop was announced by Aero Vodochody of the Czech Republic shortly after
the Iron Curtain came down. A 1997 partnership with AIDC of Taiwan resulted in
formation of Ibis Aerospace and expedited development. Four prototypes and a
pre-production aircraft took to the air between 2000 and 2004, but the Far
Eastern partners halted further funding later in 2004 and Aero's troubled
financial state has slowed the program. Nevertheless, all necessary
certification flying was completed by August 2005 and data are now in the hands
of the FAA and Europe's EASA.
Ibis
next has to find new partners and launch production. The aircraft still isn't
up-to-specification and will need redesign of wing, empennage and systems to
lose 440 lbs in order to reach the payload (six passengers in the pressurised
cabin) and 300 mph cruising speed targets. The Ae 270 is already three years
late and the catch-up plan involves building five "heavy" Spirits to get the
program moving.
Verdict:
Getting there
Moller
M400 Skycar
Since
1962, Dr. Paul Moller has been flying small, personal VTOL aircraft, beginning
with circular vehicles and now concentrating on more automobile-like shapes —
albeit with four tilting, ducted propellers at the corners of the latest,
four-seat M400. Powered by a single 1,200-hp ethanol-fueled engine, these props
allow the M400 to transition between vertical and horizontal flight, delivering
20 mpg fuel economy at 275 mph cruising, though not at the theoretical 30,000
ft ceiling until a pressurised model is available. Tethered demonstrations have
been made, the next stage being free flight transitions over a specially
constructed lake, the vehicle protected from an involuntary dunking by
temporary flotation gear. If it's not FAA-certified by the last day of 2008,
purchase deposits are refundable.
The
M400 is roadable, but only for "taxiing" at some 35 mph from landing pad to
garage. Price is most certainly not auto-like: $995,000 for early examples off the
assembly line; half that after No. 200 is built, and falling to less than
$80,000 as the economies of mass production kick in. A bigger M600 is on the
drawing board. Dr. Moller has been forced to address the question of aerial
traffic jams if everybody wants a Skycar and offers the encouraging prospect of
later purchasers not having to trouble with a pilot's license because flight
and navigation will be fully automatic, "making you a passenger — not a
pilot/driver."
Verdict:
Slim chance
OMA-SUD
Skycar
The
stylish lines say it is Italian; and the English name says the rest. After
working behind the scenes in the aerostructures business (for Airbus, Boeing
and their kind), OMA-SUD announced its entry into the air taxi and executive
air transport business at the Paris Air Show in June. Targeted for 2007
certification, this five-seater features two 200-hp Lycoming IO-360 pistons in
pusher configuration on the wings and twin booms carrying the empennage in
order to allow unrestricted access to the rear baggage area — accessed via what
those old enough to remember the J version of the Fairchild C-119 would call a
"beaver tail." The Skycar wrings a respectable 214 mph high-speed cruise from
the available horsepower, but best range of 655 miles at 8,000 feet with max
payload of 1,100 lb will not see the world's highest-flying executives rushing
to climb aboard.
Verdict:
Don't hold your breath
Rocket
Engineering Royal Turbine Duke
The
possible permutations are endless, but Rocket Engineering's latest venture in
turboprop conversion serves as a useful illustration of the work undertaken by
this and other companies in persuading old fiddles to play good, new tunes —
with a little help from Messrs. Pratt, Whitney, Rolls and Royce. First flown in
late 2004 as a follow-on to Rocket's turbine installations in Malibu/Mirages
and half-a-score of Turbine Air Bonanza 36s, the Royal Turbine Duke turns a
ho-hum performance Beech 60 into a hot ship, courtesy of two PT6A-35s flat
rated at 550 shp from 750 shp and the seemingly obligatory winglets. The
original good looks are now accompanied by an 800 ft ground roll; 4,500 ft/min
initial climb rate; 346 mph maximum level speed at 27,000 ft; 2,600-lb useful
load; and a 1,380-mile range.
