Very light jet

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use American English

File:Cirrus Vision SF50 N124MW cn 0009 (28664083278).jpg
The Cirrus Vision SF50 was the first certified single-engine civilian jet and is the most-produced VLJ with 615 deliveries as of 2024

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.

History

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 Template:Convert 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 Template:Convert.[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.

File:Cessna Citation Mustang N416CM.jpg
The Cessna Citation Mustang was the first VLJ, produced from 2006–2017, and is the second most-produced with 479 delivered

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]

Target market

VLJs are intended to have lower operating costs than conventional jets, and to be able to operate from runways as short as Template:Convert, 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]

Production

File:Embraer EMB-500 Phenom 100 AN1695056.jpg
Still delivered, the Embraer Phenom 100 is the third most-produced VLJ and began production in December 2008

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 615 total from 2016 through 2024 and most-delivered per year since 2018, and the Eclipse 500 has the most deliveries in a single year with 161 in 2008.

Deliveries[21][22][23]
Year Cirrus Vision SF50 Cessna Citation Mustang Embraer Phenom 100 Cessna CitationJet/M2 Eclipse 500/550 Honda HA-420 HondaJet Total
2006 - 1 - - 1 - 2
2007 - 45 - - 98 - 143
2008 - 101 2 - 161 - 264
2009 - 125 97 - - - 222
2010 - 73 100 - - - 173
2011 - 43 41 - - - 84
2012 - 38 29 - - - 67
2013 - 20 30 12 - - 62
2014 - 8 19 46 12 - 85
2015 - 8 12 41 7 2 70
2016 3 10 10 38 8 23 92
2017 22 7 18 39 6 43 135
2018 63 - 11 34 - 37 145
2019 81 - 11 34 - 36 162
2020 73 - 6 24 - 31 134
2021 86 - 6 34 - 37 163
2022 90 - 7 33 - 17 147
2023 96 - 11 25 2 22 156
2024 101 - 10 22 - 11 144
Total 615 479 420 382 295 259 2450

Engines

Engine Thrust Weight Application
PW610[24] Template:Cvt Template:Cvt Eclipse 500/550
PW615[25] Template:Cvt Template:Cvt 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] Template:Cvt Template:Cvt Phenom 100
HF120[28] Template:Cvt Template:Cvt HondaJet

Interior amenities

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 Template:Convert 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]

List

Template:Columns-list
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] 615 Template:Date table sorting 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]Template:Update needed 35 Template:Date table sorting 2014-2017 deliveries,Template:Efn resumed 2023
HA-420 HondaJet 6-8 11,100 lb 4.8 ft 2× HF120 422 kn[41] 1,547 nmi[41] 0.663 nmi/lb @ 360 kn $6.95M[42] 259 Template:Date table sorting 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] 382 Template:Date table sorting 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] 420 Template:Date table sorting delivered since 2008
Flaris LAR01 5 4,080 lb 4.0 ft 1× FJ33[44] 415 kn 1,730 nmi $2 m Template:Date table sorting[45] sales started 2024
Stratos 714 4 8,421 lb Template:Cvt[46] 1× JT15D[47] 415 kn 1,500 nmi $3–3.5m Template:Date table sorting in developmentTemplate:Efn
FLS Microjet 1 659 lb 1× PBS TJ-100 278 kn 200 nmi $0.1895m Template:Date table sorting
SubSonex 1 1,000 lb 1× PBS TJ-100 Template:Cvt 300+ nmi $0.135m Template:Date table sorting
Viper Jet 2 5,100 lb 1× J85 Template:Cvt 800 nmi $0.48-0.65m Template:Date table sorting
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 Template:Date table sorting 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 Template:Date table sorting 2006-2008 deliveries
Adam A700 5-7 9,350 lb 2× FJ33 340 kn 1,200 nmi $1.9 m 2 Template:Date table sorting 2008 bankruptcy[51]
Comp Air Jet[52] 8 8,900 lb 1× AI-25 320 kn 1,250 nmi $1.2 m Template:Date table sorting 2006 last update
ATG Javelin 2 6,900 lb 2× FJ33 530 kn 1,200 nmi $2.995m Template:Date table sorting 2008 halt[53]
Diamond D-Jet 5 5,115 lb 1× FJ33 315 kn 1,350 nmi $1.89m[54] Template:Date table sorting 2013 suspension
Eclipse 400[55] 4 4,480 lb 1x PW615F 345 kn 1,250 nmi $1.35m[56] Template:Date table sorting 2009 bankruptcy
Epic Victory 3-5 5,500 lb 1× FJ33 320 kn 1,200 nmi $1m Template:Date table sorting 2009 bankruptcyTemplate:Efn
Epic Elite 7 Template:Cvt 2× FJ33 390 kn 1,600 nmi $2.35 m Template:Date table sorting 2009 bankruptcyTemplate:Efn
AVCEN Jetpod 7-8 6,750 lb Template:Date table sorting 2009 crashTemplate:Efn
PiperJet 7 Template:Cvt 1× FJ44 360 kn 1,300 nmi $2.20m[57] Template:Date table sorting 2011 suspensionTemplate:Efn
S-33 Independence 9 7,500 lb 5.0 ft 2× FJ33 415 kn 2,000 nmi $3.945m [58] Template:Date table sorting 2006 crashTemplate:Efn
Sport Jet II[59] 4-5 5,250 lb 1× JT15D 380 kn 1,000 nmi $1.20m Template:Date table sorting 2006 crashTemplate:Efn
Vantage 6 8,200 lb 1× JT15D 350 kn 999 nmi $1.65 m Template:Date table sorting 2003 bankruptcyTemplate:Efn
Honda MH02 6 7,937 lb 2× JT15D 353 kn[60] Template:Date table sorting 1998 deregistration
Williams V-Jet II 3,800 lb 2× FJX-2 300 kn Template:Date table sorting 2001 donation
Aircraft Seats MTOW Cabin
height 		Engines Max.
cruise 		Max.
range 		Specific range
@ LR TAS[32] 		Unit
cost 		Deliv. First flight Status

Template:Notelist

Notes

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See also

References

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External links

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  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  10. ↑ Cox, Bill. "The Day Of The Personal Jet" Plane & Pilot Magazine, 1 May 2008. Retrieved March 2015.
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Dead link
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Garvey, William. HondaJet flight testing is underwayTemplate:Dead link Aviation Week, 30 December 2010. Accessed: 9 January 2011.
  19. ↑ FlightGlobal - Business jet deliveries sink 20% in 2020
  20. ↑ General Aviation Aircraft Shipment Report 2021 Year-End - GAMA
  21. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ a b General Aviation Manufactures Association - 2020 Annual Data
  23. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1"..
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ a b Template:Cite magazine
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  50. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  51. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  52. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  53. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  54. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  55. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  56. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  57. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  58. ↑ Spectrum S-33 Independence, retrieved 27 September 2022
  59. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  60. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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