B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 1 - (Page 52) NEW AIRCRAFT N BA A 2007 continued from page 50 bofan priced at between $1.3 and $1.6 million, while home constructors employ a 1,900-poundsthrust Williams FJ33-4. Both are buried in the rear fuselage and fed via an S duct from a flattened O intake ahead of the T tail. Rapid gestation was assisted by use of the Epic Elite’s wing and other parts of its carbon fiber airframe, but it’s a smaller aircraft with a total of four or five seats and pressurization. Even so, there’s a useful 900 pounds on top of full tanks, and at max weight it will travel 1,200 nmi at the 250-knot economy setting, or a shorter distance at 320 knots. RVSM limits the ceiling to 28,000 ft (which takes 10 minutes to achieve), while the cabin ceiling is limited to 4 feet, 5 inches. Garmin does the avionics. Verdict: Getting there Maverick Jets Excel-Jet Sport-Jet Excel-Jet Sport-Jet Sport-Jet is a four/five-seater intended for the private owner/operator, developed by the team responsible for the Maverick jet series. First flown on May 12, 2006, the prototype was destroyed the following month in a nonfatal accident unofficially attributed to wake turbulence. It had by then accumulated 25 hours and explored 95 percent of the flight envelope. Excel-Jet vowed to continue the project, but it is now in legal dispute with the local development council at Guthrie, Oklahoma, where it was planning to move from Monument, Colorado. Company restructuring and repayment of a council loan are causing diversions from the main objective. Priced at around $1 million, the T-tailed SportJet is powered by a single Williams FJ33-4A turbofan rated at 1,500 pounds of thrust, which gives it a 340-knot cruising speed and 25,000-foot ceiling. The carbon-composites fuselage accommodates four, and optionally five, occupants. IFR range with four aboard is 870 nmi. Verdict: Slim chance of related designs, although none has yet been translated into composites. Lightest of these is the SoloJET, accommodating five people, borne aloft by a single 3,190-poundsthrust PW JT-15-5 fed from a bifurcated air intake. Mid-size, the fiveplace SmartJET returns to the traditional Maverick formula of two podded jets on the rear fuselage, offering either a baseline (SJ-1) or lowerpowered (SJ-2) option of unspecified motors. The heavier CruiserJET has two 1,500-pounds-thrust engines and also takes five. Furthermore, it is the most versatile, with derivatives comprising the Sea Jet flying boat and a military model for training and light attack. Verdict: Slim chance that year. Nevertheless, Piper is reporting good progress, having completed production tooling for the natural laminar flow wing and conducted a series of wind tunnel tests pointing to minor tweaks that can be made in the design, which was shown as a full-size mock-up in Orlando. Most noticeable of these will be the 30-degree sweep to the slightly enlarged tailplane, the others being wing leading edge root extensions; a slightly smaller nacelle diameter for the finroot engine pod; an engine-pod-to-fin strake; and modified winglets. Because the single Williams FJ44-3AP is above the fuselage (and the C of G), the aircraft will have an automatic trim system to adjust the elevator for pitch changes induced by thrust variations. The -3AP is a 3,000-pounds-thrust engine but will be limited to 2,450 or 2,500 in this application, and in the unlikely event that it goes unpleasantly quiet, the HSNLF213 airfoil of the 9.7 aspect ratio wing offers a creditable 17:1 glide ratio and a bit of extra thinking time. For 2.199 million 2006 dollars, the PiperJet offers a total of six standard seats (plus a seventh, or storage, or a lavatory or a beverage center—a tricky decision between the last two); inevitably, computer/iPod docking stations at each seat; a three-screen cockpit; a 36-inch wide door; 800 pounds of payload with full tanks; 1,300 nmi; Piper Piperjet Piper PiperJet Announced (as predicted) at the NBAA Convention in Orlando last October, the PA-47 planned to make its first flight 18 months thereafter. Certification, including approval for operation in known icing conditions and RVSM, and first customer deliveries had been scheduled for the first half of 2010 but have now slipped to the end of Maverick Jets From the now-discontinued Leader (née Twinjet 1200), Maverick Jets Inc. has developed a family 52 360 knots; and flight into known icing. A 6.45pounds/square inch cabin differential gives 5,500 feet at 25,000 and a marginally less comfortable 10,000 at 35,000. The prototype should fly in 2Q2008 and may be expected at next year’s convention. Verdict: Getting there continued on page 54 September 25, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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