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Grob Goes Public with Light Jet Development Program
Bavaria-based Grob Aerospace (Chalet A354) announced development of its $7.1 million G180 SPn Utility Jet, the first all-composite light jet ever built. The SPn is designed to offer turboprop utility and light business jet speed, plus the best range and payload in class.
“We set sail to build a new pedigree of jet, one that would offer turboprop flexibility, but with more comfort and speed,” said Dr. Andreas Plesske, the firm’s chairman. Turboprop operators need a cargo carrying capability, utility and cabin volume, Plesske explained. Light jet operators often “are frustrated” because their aircraft cannot carry enough cargo and they lack short field and unpaved landing strip capabilities.
“This is the first all-composite jet and the first utility jet. It’s a sport utility vehicle that flies. The SPn is in a class of its own,” said Plesske. “SP stands for Superior Performance, Superior Payload, Supreme Practicality, Single Pilot. Seeking Perfection, we [unintentionally] left out.”
Plesske predicts the aircraft will carry 40% more payload than the Cessna Citation CJ3. If Grob fulfills its projections, the SPn also will be able to carry eight passengers 280 nmi farther than the CJ3, while offering those folks 7 inches more headroom than a Learjet 40 and nearly as much cabin length and width.
The SPn will offer all these capabilities, replacing some of the 10,000 turboprops in service today and 2,500 light jets that will enter service in the next 10 years, Plesske projected. He anticipates Grob will sell 400 units between 2007 and 2017. Composite construction makes sense for Grob because it’s the largest all-composite aircraft manufacturer in the world, having produced some 3,000 aircraft in the last 35 years that have logged more than 35 million hours of flight time. The firm also is a large volume composite structures maker for the automotive industry, with plants in Bavaria, Brazil and the United States.
Notably, Grob’s experience with its Stratos I/II aircraft provided it with knowledge about the behavior of composites in cold, high-altitude environments, precisely where the SPn will operate.
“Carbon fiber is the material of the future,” Plesske claimed, noting that Boeing has embraced such composites for the 787 and that Airbus is increasingly using composites for aerostructures.
The G180 program was launched in secret in January 2004 and the design phase was completed this past April. Construction of the first aircraft began in May 2004, with assembly starting in October. In December 2004 the fuselage and pressure vessel underwent ground tests, followed by static tests of the wing this past February and the fuel tank system in April. All ground runs of the aircraft, which is on display in front of Grob’s chalet, have been completed in preparation for first flight in July. Plesske declined to discuss the order book for the aircraft, but said that there are no bulk orders from charter or fractional ownership firms.
“We didn’t just go out and get 5,000 orders and then try to find engines, avionics and suppliers for the aircraft,” Plesske said. The firm will take a go-slow approach to initial production. Plesske declines to discuss first-year production numbers for 2007, but said that Grob wants to ensure that early deliveries won’t be plagued with growing pains. He’d like to sell aircraft to local operators near Baveria so that technicians can rush to their aid, should anything break down. After such initial local deliveries, Plesske wants to expand deliveries to North America, the largest potential market for the SPn.
That could be a challenge. Partner Execujet Aviation Group, charged with distributing and supporting the aircraft, has a strong presence in Europe, Australia and South America. It’s a virtual unknown in North America, so Plesske actively is searching for a U.S. partner that can take on these functions. —Fred George
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