The Starship was a hell of an Aircraft, but Raytheon actually bought them back and DESTROYED THEM, rather than have the liability of having the product out long-term, and competeing with it's newer models....
Trail Lawyers have KILLEd innovation in America.....
The Starship was a great, advanced design but it was too expensive and a commercial flop.
"Commercially the aeroplane was a failure, with little demand. Only 53 Starships were ever built, and of those only a handful were sold. Many of the remainder were eventually leased."
"Reasons for the lack of demand probably included price, performance, and economic conditions. The list price in 1989 was $3.9 million, similar to the Cessna Citation V and Lear 31 jets, which were 89 and 124 knots faster than the Starship at maximum cruise, respectively. The Piper Cheyenne turboprop was faster and sold for $1 million less. (Aviation Week, Oct. 2, 1989)."
Worth repeating... red tape is one thing, but a potential massive jury award adds 100% cost overhead to any potential technological breakthrough..... hence, a risky investment becomes to risky. Off-shoring does not always occur to take advantage of cheap labor.
Thanks for setting the record straight.
It is sad that the Starships are gone. It was a beautiful bird.