A Glance at VLJs

Experts can't seem to agree on what the market will look like for Very Light Jets (VLJs). Rolls-Royce predicts about 8,000 "microjets" by 2023, according to its business aviation forecast. Researcher Inflight Management Development Centre guesses 847 VLJs will be produced by 2013. On the other hand, Forecast International foresees 3,476 of the jets being manufactured by 2014.

The manufacturers of these aircraft, however, consider these to be rather conservative estimates. The companies believe the small jets could be used for private transportation, same-day cargo delivery, supplemental aircraft for flight departments, or various other missions.

Three of the top competitors of this industry are Eclipse, Adam Aircraft, and Cessna. The following paragraphs discuss updates for each of their aircraft.

Eclipse 500:
Eclipse Aviation delivered its first customer aircraft on the last day of 2006 at its headquarters in Albuquerque, NM. The company is ramping up production rates to fulfill the backlog of more than 2,500 aircraft. Eclipse has 37 additional aircraft on its production line in various stages of assembly. At least seven have been completed and are prepared for delivery. The company is leveraging advanced manufacturing methods not traditionally used in aviation to dramatically increase manufacturing efficiency. These include proven automotive manufacturing techniques such as moving assembly lines and robotics. The company's current facilities are designed to support the production of approximately 1,000 aircraft per year, or four aircraft per day.

A700 Adam Jet:
The A700 AdamJet by Adam Aircraft seats four to five passengers, with an advanced design based upon the carbon fiber structure. Adam Aircraft uses computer-aided design, rapid prototyping, advanced manufacturing techniques, and carbon composite materials to produce high-performance aircrafts. The A700 is currently undergoing flight tests and development. The A700 is a derivative of the A500, and uses the same wing, boom, tail, nose gear, instrumental panel and some seats. The ability to use components that were already approved during the certification process of the A500 has sped up the process for the new AdamJet.

Citation Mustang:
Cessna Aircraft Company recently delivered its first Citation Mustang business jet following award of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the production certificate (PC). The PC authorizes Cessna to produce, flight test and grant airworthiness certificates for the Mustang. Full FAA type certification (TC) for the Citation Mustang was awarded last September, making it the first in a new category of entry-level jets to receive a TC from the FAA. Cessna expects to deliver 40 Mustangs in 2007, and production will ramp up through 2009.