I want one. 
Posted on 01/02/2006 8:22:22 AM PST by george76
One of the most breathlessly anticipated revolutions in U.S. aviation is poised to take off in 2006, as new super-fast, relatively cheap airplanes called "very light jets" finally go into service.
Thanks to breakthroughs in the performance of engines for small jets, along with better airplane manufacturing techniques...a new breed of aircraft for a new category of travel:
jet-speed transportation between as many as 5,500 U.S. airports, in planes that cost as little as $1.5 million.
That's a fraction of the price of today's private jets.
Pending final certification by the Federal Aviation Administration this winter...Eclipse's six-seater E500 could be taking to the skies in July.
The planes can cruise at more than 400 mph, twice the typical speed of private propeller-driven planes.
"This is the absolute future, and everybody in the aviation business knows it," ...
Because VLJs weigh as little as a minivan, they can land on runways as short as 3,000 feet - compared with the 4,000 or 5,000 feet required by the smallest private jets today.
Huge cost savings
The advantage of VLJs is they potentially will cost a third as much to buy and half as much to operate per hour as traditional small jets, vastly broadening the market for air taxi and charter services.
Today, about 98 percent of U.S. air travelers fly through just 460 commercial airports, and 70 percent through just 30 huge airports ...
Some of the most zealous evangelists for VLJs have predicted the planes will quickly replace hub-and- spoke misery for high-end business travelers, the lifeblood of commercial airlines, with millions flying in small, comfortable planes from suburb to suburb - paying prices comparable to those for first-class tickets but avoiding big airports.
(Excerpt) Read more at rockymountainnews.com ...
i want one, been watching it for years, it was suppose to ne 775-950 k
1.5 is a bit out of my budget
I want one.
Fractional fee ownership will be interesting to watch.
Sharing the purchase price and maintenance should be allot cheaper than a larger jet.
Landing in shorter runways should be a big bonus for many folks.
Nice Picture.
yes i agree, overall this is extremely cool
Pardon me for not jumping on the bandwagon, but I have become weary of hearing announcement after announcement of new aviation breakthroughs and then when I read about them I discover
THAT THEY DON'T GO ANY FASTER WHATSOEVER THAN 25 YEARS AGO.
Airplane makers care only about lower fuel costs. I care about not spending my life sitting on an airplane droning along at 400 knots. Yeah, I know they are playing games with this announcment and comparing them to Cessna 172s, but after that is out of their mouth they then leap forward to talk about chasing high end business travelers.
I will give them this. I will likely drive a shorter distance to and from the airport, but what are they going to do with TSA announces they have to expand staff 5 zillion % to put security at all these minor strips?
Air taxi and charter services should love this six seater jet.
Moving over 425 per hour should get allot of us to where we want to be.
"1.5 is a bit out of my budget"
Yeah, mine too. I think I'll wait a couple ofyears and pick up a pre-ownded jet for maybe $800K. ;)
Has anyone seen a max range figure for it?
"a generous range of 1,280 nautical miles."
"A 41,000-foot ceiling avoids most severe weather, and this extraordinary jet gives you access to more than 10,000 airports..."
1280 miles
Thank you. The site was very useful.
Here's the problem: thanks to increasingly tighter air traffic control procedures, flying faster won't get you any more benefits unless you're flying intercontinental flights. Those increased ATC controls was why Convair wasn't able to sell that many 880 and 990 models during the 1960's.
It is the way General Aviation is evolving. 20 years from now there will probably not be any piston aircraft in production.
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