The company, which expects to deliver its 1,000th FJ44 engine during NBAA, is launching a new Total Assurance Program to improve its already top-ranked customer support. "We're pleased with the record we've established, and want to keep improving," Williams says.

After last year's NBAA show, which saw the launch of the all-new FJ33, the uprated FJ44-2C and the announcement of three new applications, Williams International is focusing on delivering what it's promised. "There is no new engine to announce, but we're doing well on our current programs."

The FJ33 "is on track to support the CenturyJet schedule," Williams says. "I'm encouraged by what CenturyJet is doingit looks like [Bill Northrup] is going to make it. He's got a lot of good companies working for him."

Williams will start the FJ33 test program with production-standard engines, without a prototype as such. Although it has no common components with the FJ44, except for some accessories, Williams says its design and technology "are very similar to the FJ44, and we can make the transition without difficulty."

A team in Devil's Lake, ND, is "making progress and getting orders" for another twin-FJ33 aircraft, based on the Aerostar, says Williams. "It's an aircraft that people fall in love with," he says. "The owners are an enthusiastic group and they're eager to get a jet version."

Even the projected demand for the FJ33 and new FJ44 applicationsthe Raytheon Premier, Sino-Swearingen SJ30-2 and CitationJet II are all under developmentwon't stretch the capacity of Williams' production plant in Ogden, UT. Built to produce thousands of F112 engines for the AGM-129 stealth cruise missile, Ogden is large enough to cope with the current programs.

New FJ33 on display at the Williams exhibit.

The gearbox of the TSX-2 turboprop is being fabricated, and the TSX-1 turboshaft (which will bring twin-turbine reliability to smaller and less costly helicopters) is being developed in parallel.

A key feature of the FJX-2 programdesigned to create a high-performance turbofan that will cost well under $100,000is that the design of the engine itself is in lock-step with the development of the automated, high-quality processes which will be used to make each component.

"We maintain our cost analysis continuously on each component," Williams told Show News. "We know the processes we're going to use and what each component will cost.

"When we're ready to go, we'll be well down the road," he promises. The FJX-2 could be certifi-cated within three years
of launch.

Dr. Williams attributes his company's high ratings for support "to a large extent, to the quality of the engines." The FJ44 is a modern, mechanically simple engine and has had no major problems, but the company set out from the start "to be there instantly, correct any issues and get the aircraft in the air. You make a lot of points that way," he says.