Show News Editor, John Morris, practices for the GE90 clean-and-jerk with FJX-2.

The actual weight of the 700-lb thrust FJX-2 is being kept under wraps until the engine flies on board the Williams/Scaled Composites V-Jet II demonstrator next spring. The goal of the program, which is jointly funded by Williams and NASA as part of the agency's General Aviation Propulsion (GAP) project, was a 100-pound engine, but Williams engineers have said that they've beaten that target.

The FJX-2 on show here, identified on its nameplate as Demonstration Engine 001, reveals few of the engine's secrets. It appears to have a one-piece composite aft cowl, and the fan aerodynamics are based on the Williams Wide Sweep design that is also seen on the FJ44-2 and FJ33.

The most radical feature of the engine, however, should be its price tag. The price depends on the size of the market and the production rate, but the goal is believed to be around $50,000--a fraction of the cost of any turbine engine today. Moreover, the engine is being designed for a 7,500-hour TBO.

The low cost is being achieved through simplicity (note that the engine on show here does not appear to have any mechanical accessory drives--instead, it has a shaft-mounted electrical starter/generator) and by designing the parts to be produced by modern automated equipment.

If the current program is successful, a production engine could be available by 2003. A twin-FJX-2 aircraft would cost no more than a top-end piston single today