Here is a quick rundown of what could be an interesting field of the very newest very light jets (VLJs) or personal jets (PJs) that were at Oshkosh EAA AirVenture 2008.
Cirrus Vision SJ50:-First flight of 45 minutes duration 3 July 2008 at Duluth, MN was entirely successful. N281CJ photographed at OSH. N280CJ also demo flown at OSH. Power-one Williams FJ33-4A-19 turbofan of 1,900 lb st with FADEC. A Vee-tail jet of six-seven seats, Cirrus has more than 500 orders for this jet. Expected performance: Cruise speed about 300 knots, service ceiling 25,000 feet. Cirrus is touting easy to fly transition characteristics from their SR20/SR22 prop aircraft. Certification and first deliveries expected 2011 at $1-1.3 million.
Diamond D-Jet: Photographed at OSH as C-FPTM prototype. Power: one Williams FJ33-4A-19 turbofan of 1,900 lb st with FADEC in production version. Five seats. Max cruise expected-315 knots. Service ceiling 25,000 feet. Not yet repriced with engine change from prototype which has a Williams -15 turbofan. Certification and deliveries expected second quarter of 2009-leading the field of VLJs.
Eclipse EA400: One prototype Experimental class developed by Swift Engineering as Mark 400 photographed at OSH as N5184U with one P&W(C)610F-A of 900 lb st. A Vee-tail jet similar to the Cirrus SJ50 but smaller. Power: will be one Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615F of 1,350 lb st. Service ceiling is (gasp) 41,000 feet. Max cruise 330 knots, long range cruise range at 290 knots is 1,250 nautical miles. Projected price: $1.35 million.
PiperJet: Mockup only at OSH, not photographed by me. First flight 30 July 2008 at Vero Beach, FL. Fastest of the VLJs at expected max cruise speed of 360 knots and probably the largest of the new VLJs. Seven seats, or six with the standard lavatory. Question? At max range of 1,300 nautical miles and expected pricing, who would order this without a toilet? Duh! Power: one Williams FJ44-3AP turbofan of 3,000 lb st expected. Certification and deliveries expected late 2011. Priced at $2.199 million in 2006 dollars. Not composite construction, will be all aluminum, mostly rivet-free.