Aircraft
OEMs turn attention to single-engine jets
The race is on; the first manufacturer to certify, build and deliver a single-engine jet that offers reasonable performance and price might have the market

The race is on; the first manufacturer to certify, build and deliver a single-engine jet that offers reasonable performance and price might have the market to itself until Piper Aircraft’s PiperJet joins the fray in 2010. Unless Cirrus Design has far more up its sleeve than it has revealed thus far, it appears that Diamond will be first to market with its surprisingly roomy D-Jet.

Cirrus plans a big announcement about its single-engine jet later this month at the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association’s annual migration to Cirrus’s Duluth, Minn. headquarters. While Excel-Jet has told AIN that it is currently building a second prototype to replace the first, which was destroyed in a takeoff accident last year, the company is also seeking funding for the program to continue to certification.