In boxing parlance, you might say Earl Robinson can take a punch. The former Fairchild Dornier executive absorbed a series of setbacks this year in his struggle to field a new family of regional jets under the Alliance Aircraft brand name, but every time he looked beaten, Robinson’s persistence would spark yet another glimmer of hope.
After entering the year heavily in debt and still smarting from Sukhoi’s decision to opt out of a proposed risk-sharing agreement that would have given Alliance the funding to proceed with its plans to build a family of jets ranging from 70- to 110 seats in capacity, Robinson piqued the interest of yet another potential partner, this time in China. The contract, announced during June’s Paris Air Show, would give Harbin Aircraft exclusive production rights for the 35-seat StarLiner 100-35 and responsibility for building Chinese versions of the 44- and 50-seat StarLiners, known as the SL-100-44 and SL-100-50.
