Very light jet

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.

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 9500 lb 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 10350 lb.

Other attempts to create small jet aircraft in this class in the 1970s and 1980s were the Gulfstream Aerospace FanJet 1500 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."

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.

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.

Target market

VLJs are intended to have lower operating costs than conventional jets, and to be able to operate from runways as short as 3000 ft, either for personal use or in point-to-point air taxi service. 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, DayJet ceased operations on September 19, 2008.

Production

Many models are under development or awaiting certification, while others have failed. Six have so far made deliveries to customers:

• 2006–2017 : Cessna Citation Mustang
• 2006–2008 : Eclipse EA500
• 2008–present : Embraer Phenom 100
• 2013–present : Cessna CitationJet/M2
• 2014–2017, 2023–2024 : Eclipse 550
• 2015–present : Honda HA-420 HondaJet
• 2016–present : Cirrus Vision SF50

The Cessna Citation Mustang was the first production VLJ, first delivered in November 2006, and discontinued in May 2017, and the Cirrus Vision SF50 is the first single-engine production VLJ, beginning deliveries in December 2016.

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, with light jets suffering the most. In 2020, business jet deliveries slowed again due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 20% decrease over the previous year. 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. 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.

Engines

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 and items on NBC Nightly News. Some manufacturers argued that for short flights of 300 to and 40 to 80 minutes' duration, the lavatory issue was not a problem and air taxi service companies said that it was not a concern for most of their passengers. 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.

List

Notes

References

• The VLJ (Very Light Jet) Market 2006-2017
• Evaluating the Efficiency of a Small Aircraft Transportation System Network Using Planning and Simulation Models (2006)
• Nationwide Impacts of Very Light Jet Traffic in the Future Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS) (2006)
• A Transportation Systems Analysis Model (TSAM) to study the impact of the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) (2005)
• An Integrated Model To Study The Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) (2003)

References

1. Paul Bertorelli. (December 2010). "Can Eclipse Make It?". AvWeb.
2. Jerram, Mike. (October 2010). "Morane-Saulnier Paris: the very first Very Light Jet". International Council of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associations.
3. Olcott, John W.. (5 May 2006). "Turbine Pilot: VLJ Deja Vu". [[Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association]].
4. (21 July 2016). "Getting personal with single-engined jets". Flight Global.
5. "Collier Trophy". National Aeronautic Association.
6. Croft, John. (May 2006). "Very Light Jets: Boom or Blip". [[American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics]].
7. Aboulafia, Richard. (2006-03-13). "March 2006 Newsletter".
8. David Noland. (20 May 2007). "Mini-Jet Revolution, or Dot-Com with Wings?".
9. (2007-11-02). "Very Light Jets Enter Fractional Market". Halogen Guides Jets.
10. link. (11 January 2016 " ''Plane & Pilot Magazine'', 1 May 2008. Retrieved March 2015.)
11. Trautvetter, Chad. (2006-11-23). "Cessna Beats Out Eclipse In First VLJ Delivery". AVweb.
12. (2006-01-19). "Smaller, faster, cheaper new jets may transform flying". [[USA Today]].
13. (July 2018). "Cessna Citation Mustang Cleared for Flight Into Known Icing Conditions". [[Cessna.
14. Stephen Trimble. (11 May 2017). "Cessna rolls out last Mustang after genre-defining run". Flight Global.
15. (2016-10-31). "Cirrus Earns Vision Jet Certification". AOPA.
16. (20 December 2016). "Cirrus delivers first Vision jet, unveils new facility".
17. Grady, Mary. (November 2010). "Report: GA Sales Continue To Drop".
18. (December 2024)
19. [https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/business-jet-deliveries-sink-20-in-2020/142597.article FlightGlobal - Business jet deliveries sink 20% in 2020]
20. [https://gama.aero/wp-content/uploads/2021ShipmentReport-02-23-2022-0730.pdf General Aviation Aircraft Shipment Report 2021 Year-End - GAMA]
21. General Aviation Manufacturers Association. (2020). "2019 Databook".
22. "General Aviation Manufactures Association - 2020 Annual Data".
23. "Quarterly Shipments and Billings – GAMA".
24. (12 March 2007). "TCDS No.: IM.E.028". EASA.
25. (1 March 2007). "TCDS No.: IM.E.025". EASA.
26. (21 July 2021). "TCDS No.: IM.E.016". EASA.
27. (19 May 2017). "TCDS No.: IM.E.125". EASA.
28. (31 January 2022). "TCDS No.: IM.E.054". EASA.
29. Sharkey, Joe. (2006-08-29). "Big Battle in Small-Jet Skies". The New York Times.
30. Di Piazza, Karen. "No Throne Room on Eclipse VLJ: Real Issue or Media Hype?". CharterX.
31. "HondaJet Lavatory - Toilet".
32. (June 2019). "Purchase Planning Handbook 2019". Aviation Week Network.
33. "Archived copy".
34. (2008-10-22). "Cirrus Jet Specifications PDF". Cirrus.
35. (11 August 2020). "We Fly: The Generation 2 Cirrus Vision".
36. (Second Quarter 2023). "Purchase planning handbook - Jets table". Business & Commercial Aircraft.
37. (21 February 2016). "Eclipse 550".
38. Pew, Glen. (2006-12-06). "Eclipse Addresses Delays And Performance Guarantees". AVweb.
39. "Purchase Planning Handbook 2016".
40. "Eclipse Aviation aircraft for sale at GlobalPlaneSearch.com".
41. "Introducing HondaJet Elite".
42. Anglisano, Larry. (17 October 2022). "Honda Announces HondaJet Elite II". AVweb.
43. "Phenom 100EV".
44. "FLARIS LAR 1 {{!}} Installing the engine in the Flaris".
45. "FLARIS LAR1 took off".
46. "Stratos 714 Light Business Jet".
47. "Stratos 716 Cutaway".
48. "Controller.com - Can We Help You Find Something?".
49. "Eclipse 500".
50. Niles, Russ. (May 2008). "Eclipse Goes Ahead With Single, Hikes Price Of Twin".
51. (2006-10-16). "A700 Adam Jet Chosen by Magnum Jet". [[Adam Aircraft Industries]].
52. (18 April 2007). "Comp Air Jet in Limbo".
53. (2007-12-19). "ATG Halts Javelin Program". AVWeb.
54. "Diamond D at GlobalPlaneSearch.com".
55. (2007-07-23). "Eclipse ECJ". Airventure.
56. "Eclipse Aviation aircraft for sale at GlobalPlaneSearch.com".
57. "Piper aircraft for sale at GlobalPlaneSearch.com".
58. [http://www.spectrum.aero/images/stories/downloads/brochures/Independence_S33_Competitive_Advantages.pdf Spectrum S-33 Independence], retrieved 27 September 2022
59. Sport-Jet, Ltd. (2013). "Sport-Jet, Ltd: Official Site of Sport Jet II". sportjetair.com.
60. "Honda MH02".