EBACE Show News - May 20, 2008 - (Page 46) NEW AIRCRAFT EBACE 2008 Grob, Diamond, Honda, Embraer Busy Too Continued from page 42 the Phenom 300 can accommodate up to 10 passengers. In more typical six-passenger configuration it will have a range of 1,800 nmi with NBAA IFR reserves—sufficient to fly nonstop from Geneva to Cairo, Tel Aviv or Moscow. Max operating speed is Mach 0.78. The flight deck features Garmin’s Prodigy fully integrated avionics suite, with three interchangeable 12-inch LCD displays, two for PFD and one for MFD functions. “Premium comfort”—the airplane features a BMW Group DesignworksUSA interior—“outstanding performance and low operating costs are key design drivers to make the Phenom 300 a ‘best-in-class’ jet,” says Embraer. Three Phenom 300s will take part in a 1,400-hour flight test program, scheduled to culminate in the light jet’s service entry in the second half of 2009. A fourth will be dedicated to a product maturity campaign. The Phenom 300 is priced at $6.65 million in 2008 dollars. Embraer Phenom 300 flew for first time last month. are from U.S. customers. The company recently signed a 25-airplane order from fractional operator PlaneSense, with the prospect of doubling it in the future. B/CA equipped price: $6.9 million. Grob is at Booth 7501 at EBACE. Diamond’s third D-Jet took to the air for the first time in April. HondaJet Grob SPn The first and third prototype Grob SPns continue to log flight test hours. Earlier this year aircraft No. 3 underwent several weeks of flight testing at Granada, Spain, focusing on flight characteristics and performance, avionics, subsystems and landing gear, along with the high-speed envelope. P004 will be added to the test program in three months’ time, with EASA certification now set for late 2008. Powered by two 2,800-poundsthrust Williams FJ44-3A turbofans, the SPn can operate from 3,000 ft unimproved runways and has a range of 1,800 nmi with single pilot and six passengers. Grob Aerospace holds orders for more than 100 SPns, of which over half Diamond D-JET D-JET s/n 003 made its first flight just a month before EBACE, on April 14. Initially, this airplane’s test program will focus on performance and handling quality refinement, but it subsequently will be used to further develop avionics, fuel, autopilot and anti-icing systems. Later this year s/n 003 will be retroEASA certificate for the Grob SPn fitted with the Williams is expected late this year International FJ33-19 engine to begin testing with the production configuration powerplant. Adoption of the 1,900pounds-thrust engine in place of the originally specified 1,564-poundsthrust FJ33-4A-15 will push first D-Jet deliveries back from late 2008 to second quarter 2009, but Diamond president Peter Maurer believes that customers won’t mind the wait, as they will be getting a more capable airplane. Smart Air SA of Luxembourg recently became the first fractional ownership company to order the D-Jet with an initial buy of eight that it will operate across Europe. B/CA equipped price: $1.435 million. 46 First flown in December 2003, the HondaJet is moving steadily towards the marketplace as Honda Aircraft Co. expands its worldwide network of dealerships. HAC recently announced a sales and service strategy for Mexico and Canada. Expect news of its European sales and support strategy to be revealed here in Geneva, possibly accompanied by details of establishment of a European headquarters for HAC, likely to be in the UK. The HondaJet is powered by a pair of GE Honda HF120 turbofans in unusual over-wing mounts that Honda says reduce drag, boost performance and fuel efficiency and afford a more spacious cabin area. Typical executive configuration will offer accommodation for five passengers with separate lavatory. The first flight of a production-conforming HondaJet is expected in early 2009, with concurrent FAA and EASA type certifications and first deliveries, to North American customers, in the following year. HAC reports orders for more than 100 HondaJets. The company is at Booth 7547 here. A production-conforming HondaJet is to fly next year. May 20, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.