A very light jet (VLJ), entry-level jet or personal jet, [1] previously known as a microjet, is a category of small business jets that seat four to eight people. VLJs are considered the lightest business jets and are approved for single-pilot operation.
The first small jet-powered civil aircraft, the 1950s Morane-Saulnier MS.760 Paris, has been retroactively suggested as being the first VLJ, as it seats four with a single pilot and is smaller than modern VLJs. The production of MS.760 differs from modern business jets in having a sliding canopy for cabin access rather than a door; a six-seat version with an enclosed cabin and a conventional door was canceled after a single prototype was built. [2] [3]
Two unbuilt Cessna aircraft of the 1950s and 1960s would have met the definition of a VLJ. The first was the 407, a four-seat civil version of the T-37 jet trainer proposed in 1959; however, the 407 never progressed past the mockup stage due to insufficient customer interest. The second was the Fanjet 500, which had an MTOW of 9,500 pounds (4,310 kg) and a single pilot as originally envisioned in 1968; however, as the aircraft evolved into the Citation, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration demanded a second pilot and various design changes, resulting in an MTOW of 10,350 pounds (4,690 kg). [3]
Other attempts to create small jet aircraft in this class in the 1970s and 1980s were the Gulfstream Aerospace FanJet 1500 [3] and the CMC Leopard.
After a flurry of interest in the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) and air taxi markets in the early 2000s, the VLJ sector underwent significant expansion. Several new designs were produced, such as the Embraer Phenom 100, the Cessna Citation Mustang, and the Eclipse 500. However, following the late 2000s recession the air taxi market underperformed expectations, and both Eclipse Aviation and air taxi firm DayJet collapsed. In December 2010, AvWeb's Paul Bertorelli explained that the term very light jet has lost favor in the aviation industry: "Personal jet is the description du jour. You don't hear the term VLJ—very light jet—much anymore and some people in the industry tell me they think it's because that term was too tightly coupled to Eclipse, a failure that the remaining players want to, understandably, distance themselves from." [1]
Single-engine designs were popular in the mid-2000s, before the Great Recession diminished the market appeal of the category. Most of those projects, which included the Piper Altaire, Diamond D-Jet, Eclipse 400 and VisionAire Vantage, were all shelved. As of 2016, the only maintained aircraft are the Cirrus Vision SF50, which was type certified that year and put into production, and the Stratos 714, which at the time expected certification in 2019. Single-engine VLJs are expected to compete with single turboprop aircraft. [4]
Two VLJs in history have won the Collier Trophy, known as the most prestigious aerospace engineering award in the United States — the Eclipse 500 in 2006 and the Cirrus Vision SF50 in 2018. [5]
VLJs are intended to have lower operating costs than conventional jets, and to be able to operate from runways as short as 3,000 feet (910 m), either for personal use or in point-to-point air taxi service. [6] [7] In the United States, the Small Aircraft Transportation System is aimed at providing air service to areas ignored by airlines.
Florida-based air taxi provider DayJet, which on October 3, 2007 began its Eclipse 500 service, planned to operate more than 1,000 of the VLJs within five years, [8] and had stated in mid-2007 that it planned to operate 300 Eclipse 500s serving 40 regional airports in the Southeastern United States by the end of 2008. [9] DayJet ceased operations on September 19, 2008. [8]
Many models are under development or awaiting certification, while others have failed. [10] Six have so far made deliveries to customers:
The Cessna Citation Mustang was the first production VLJ, first delivered in November 2006, [11] [12] [13] and discontinued in May 2017, [14] and the Cirrus Vision SF50 is the first single-engine production VLJ, beginning deliveries in December 2016. [15] [16]
Business jet sales suffered due to the late 2000s recession. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported in November 2010 that third quarter business jet sales were down 20.3% over the same period in 2009, [17] with light jets suffering the most. [18] In 2020, business jet deliveries slowed again due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 20% decrease over the previous year. [19] However, the industry bounced back the following year, in 2021, with a 10% increase over 2020 and a single VLJ delivery more than in 2019. [20] The Cirrus Vision SF50 is the most-delivered VLJ with 514 total from 2016 through 2023 and most-delivered per year since 2018, and the Eclipse 500 has the most deliveries in a single year with 161 in 2008.
| Year | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cirrus Vision SF50 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 22 | 63 | 81 | 73 | 86 | 90 | 96 | 514 |
| Cessna Citation Mustang | 1 | 45 | 101 | 125 | 73 | 43 | 38 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 479 |
| Embraer Phenom 100 | - | - | 2 | 97 | 100 | 41 | 29 | 30 | 19 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 410 |
| Cessna CitationJet/M2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 46 | 41 | 38 | 39 | 34 | 34 | 24 | 34 | 33 | 25 | 360 |
| Eclipse 500/550 | 1 | 98 | 161 | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 7 | 8 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 295 |
| Honda HA-420 HondaJet | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 23 | 43 | 37 | 36 | 31 | 37 | 17 | 22 | 248 |
| Total | 2 | 143 | 264 | 222 | 173 | 84 | 67 | 62 | 85 | 70 | 92 | 135 | 145 | 162 | 134 | 163 | 147 | 156 | 2306 |
| Engine | Thrust | Weight | Application |
|---|---|---|---|
| PW610 [24] | 4.226 kN (950 lbf) | 115.7 kg (255 lb) | Eclipse 500/550 |
| PW615 [25] | 6.49 kN (1,460 lbf) | 140 kg (310 lb) | Citation Mustang |
| FJ33-5A [26] | 8.21 kN (1,846 lbf) | 144.7 kg (319 lb) | Cirrus SF50 |
| FJ44-1AP [26] | 8.47 kN (1,965 lbf) | 240.5 kg (530 lb) | Citation M2 |
| PW617 [27] | 8.411 kN (1,891 lbf) | 172 kg (379 lb) | Phenom 100 |
| HF120 [28] | 9.32 kN (2,100 lbf) | 211.3 kg (466 lb) | HondaJet |
When these smaller jets were first mooted, there was much interest in the fact that they would not have a lavatory on board, with articles discussing the matter in The New York Times [29] and items on NBC Nightly News. [30] Some manufacturers argued that for short flights of 300 to 500 miles (480 to 800 km) and 40 to 80 minutes' duration, the lavatory issue was not a problem [29] and air taxi service companies said that it was not a concern for most of their passengers. [30] Despite this, the Eclipse 500 had the option of an electric flush, remove-to-service lavatory with a privacy curtain - at the expense of one passenger seat, and the proposed Adam A700 design had a seven-seat configuration with rear lavatory with a privacy curtain. The Cessna Mustang also has an emergency toilet, but it is located between the cockpit and cabin. The Embraer Phenom 100 offers a fully enclosed lavatory with a solid door. The 2015 Honda HA-420 HondaJet has a full lavatory at the rear of the aircraft with flushing toilet, full sink and closing door. [31]
| Aircraft | Seats | MTOW | Cabin height | Engines | Max. cruise | Max. range | Specific range @ LR TAS [32] | Unit cost | Deliv. [21] [22] [23] [33] | First flight | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cirrus SF50 | 5-7 [34] | 6,000 lb | 4.1 ft | 1× FJ33 | 305 kn [35] | 1,275 nmi [35] | 0.863 nmi/lb @ 259 kn | $3.25M [36] | 514 | 3 Jul 2008 | delivered since 2016 |
| Eclipse 550 | 6 | 6,000 lb [37] | 4.2 ft [37] | 2× PW610F | 375 kn [38] | 1,125 nmi [38] | 1.040 nmi/lb @ 334 kn [39] | $2.9m [40] [ needs update ] | 35 | March 2013 | 2014-2017 deliveries, [lower-alpha 1] resumed 2023 |
| Honda HA-420 | 6-8 | 10,700 lb | 4.8 ft | 2× HF120 | 422 kn [41] | 1,437 nmi [41] | 0.663 nmi/lb @ 360 kn | $6.95M [42] | 248 | 3 Dec 2003 | delivered since 2015 |
| Citation M2 | 6-8 | 10,700 lb | 4.8 ft | 2× FJ44 | 404 kn | 1,550 nmi | 0.626 nmi/lb @ 323 kn | $6.15M [36] | 360 | 29 Apr 1991 | delivered since 1993 |
| Phenom 100 | 6-8 | 10,703 lb | 4.9 ft | 2× PW617F | 406 kn [43] | 1,178 nmi [43] | 0.626 nmi/lb @ 340 kn | $4.995M [36] | 410 | 26 Jul 2007 | delivered since 2008 |
| Flaris LAR01 | 5 | 4,080 lb | 4.0 ft | 1× FJ33 [44] | 415 kn | 1,730 nmi | $2 m | 5 Apr 2019 [45] | sales started 2024 | ||
| Stratos 714 | 4 | 8,421 lb | 4.8 ft [46] | 1× JT15D [47] | 415 kn | 1,500 nmi | $3–3.5m | 21 Nov 2016 | in development [lower-alpha 2] | ||
| FLS Microjet | 1 | 659 lb | 1× PBS TJ-100 | 278 kn | 200 nmi | $0.1895m | Jan 2011 | ||||
| SubSonex | 1 | 1,000 lb | 1× PBS TJ-100 | 220 kn | 300+ nmi | $0.135m | 10 Aug 2011 | ||||
| Viper Jet | 2 | 5,100 lb | 1× J85 | 430 kn | 800 nmi | $0.48-0.65m | Oct 1999 | ||||
| Citation Mustang | 6 | 8,645 lb | 4.5 ft | 2× PW615F | 340 kn | 1,167 nmi | 0.641 nmi/lb @ 319 kn [39] | $3.35m [48] | 479 | 23 Apr 2005 | 2006-2017 deliveries |
| Eclipse 500 | 6 | 6,000 lb | 4.2 ft [49] | 2× PW610F | 370 kn [38] | 1,125 nmi [38] | $2.15m [50] | 260 | 26 Aug 2002 | 2006-2008 deliveries | |
| Adam A700 | 5-7 | 9,350 lb | 2× FJ33 | 340 kn | 1,200 nmi | $1.9 m | 2 | 28 Jul 2003 | 2008 bankruptcy [51] | ||
| Comp Air Jet [52] | 8 | 8,900 lb | 1× AI-25 | 320 kn | 1,250 nmi | $1.2 m | 10 Jul 2004 | 2006 last update | |||
| ATG Javelin | 2 | 6,900 lb | 2× FJ33 | 530 kn | 1,200 nmi | $2.995m | 30 Sep 2005 | 2008 halt [53] | |||
| Diamond D-Jet | 5 | 5,115 lb | 1× FJ33 | 315 kn | 1,350 nmi | $1.89m [54] | 18 Apr 2006 | 2013 suspension | |||
| Eclipse 400 [55] | 4 | 4,480 lb | 1x PW615F | 345 kn | 1,250 nmi | $1.35m [56] | 2 Jul 2007 | 2009 bankruptcy | |||
| Epic Victory | 3-5 | 5,500 lb | 1× FJ33 | 320 kn | 1,200 nmi | $1m | 6 Jul 2007 | 2009 bankruptcy [lower-alpha 3] | |||
| Epic Elite | 7 | 7,701 lb | 2× FJ33 | 390 kn | 1,600 nmi | $2.35 m | 7 Jun 2007 | 2009 bankruptcy [lower-alpha 3] | |||
| AVCEN Jetpod | 7-8 | 6,750 lb | 16 Aug 2009 | 2009 crash [lower-alpha 4] | |||||||
| PiperJet | 7 | 7,000 lb | 1× FJ44 | 360 kn | 1,300 nmi | $2.20m [57] | 30 Jul 2008 | 2011 suspension [lower-alpha 5] | |||
| S-33 Independence | 9 | 7,500 lb | 5.0 ft | 2× FJ33 | 415 kn | 2,000 nmi | $3.945m [58] | 7 Jan 2006 | 2006 crash [lower-alpha 6] | ||
| Sport Jet II [59] | 4-5 | 5,250 lb | 1× JT15D | 380 kn | 1,000 nmi | $1.20m | 12 May 2006 | 2006 crash [lower-alpha 7] | |||
| Vantage | 6 | 8,200 lb | 1× JT15D | 350 kn | 999 nmi | $1.65 m | 16 Nov 1996 | 2003 bankruptcy [lower-alpha 8] | |||
| Honda MH02 | 6 | 7,937 lb | 2× JT15D | 353 kn [60] | 5 Mar 1993 | 1998 deregistration | |||||
| Williams V-Jet II | 3,800 lb | 2× FJX-2 | 300 kn | 13 Apr 1997 | 2001 donation | ||||||
| Aircraft | Seats | MTOW | Cabin height | Engines | Max. cruise | Max. range | Specific range @ LR TAS [32] | Unit cost | Deliv. | First flight | Status |
Think the VLJ is a modern phenomenon? They've been around for almost 60 years, says Mike Jerram
More than 50 years ago, before Eclipse Aviation President and Chief Executive Officer Vern Raburn was born — and obviously decades before he envisioned the Eclipse 500... — the concept of relatively light aircraft powered by jet engines and flown by a single pilot emerged.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Cessna is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing corporation also headquartered in Wichita. The company produced small, piston-powered aircraft, as well as business jets. For much of the mid-to-late 20th century, Cessna was one of the highest-volume and most diverse producers of general aviation aircraft in the world. It was founded in 1927 by Clyde Cessna and Victor Roos and was purchased by General Dynamics in 1985, then by Textron, Inc. in 1992. In March 2014, when Textron purchased the Beechcraft and Hawker Aircraft corporations, Cessna ceased operations as a subsidiary company, and joined the others as one of the three distinct brands produced by Textron Aviation.
A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more personal comfort than commercial aircraft, and may be adapted for other roles, such as casualty evacuation or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by public bodies, government officials, VIPs, or even the military.
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The Eclipse 500 is a very light jet (VLJ) originally produced by Eclipse Aviation of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The company was founded in 1998 to develop the 1997 Williams V-Jet II demonstrator. The prototype first flew with Williams EJ22 turbofans on August 26, 2002. The engines were replaced by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610Fs in 2004 and Eclipse Aviation won the Collier Trophy in February 2006 for the design. A provisional FAA type certification was received on 27 July 2006 and the first delivery occurred on 31 December 2006.
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