Break out the check books-


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/bu...=1&oref=slogin

 

Just what the atc system needs, thousands more of these little jets taken up space in an already saturated network. I'm sure the northeast sectors will love them.

 

I do not drink the VLJ kool-aid. "Thousands" of new planes is BS. I have always heard about "new and great things that will cause a fundamental shift in the aviaiton industry" for years-----and they never happen.

Three reasons VLJs are over-hyped....

1. VLJs are small. The general public does not like small airplanes, and the General Aviation exposed people have a 1.5 million dollar jet the size of an Encore, Lear 31, or Hawker 400 in thier mind. A lawyer at the airport was going on and on about the Eclipse---until I told him it was roughly the size of a Baron.

2. If people are going to the boonies, then there are underserved airports that Eclipse talks about. Some are not maintained as well as desired anymore, over-run with deer, or have limited service because small aviation businesses are going away. If people are going to large areas, where are these airports??? Teterboro? Morristown?? Hanscom?? These places are busy, and in busy airspace.

3. Insurance. The insurance man kills the dreams of many would be private pilot jet drivers. Single pilot jets have been around since like 1970, and you really don't see a lot of people flying them single pilot.

 

Yeah, like every one of them is going to be flying in the same place at the same time.

Fractionals were the latest big thing about ten years ago and they soaked into the landscape without stressing the system much. If anything, It will be a benefit to ATC to work a VLJ into a major airport, as opposed to the twin Cessna the VLJ is trying to replace.

The key, I believe, is going to be what the manufacturers are willing to do to ensure that these pilots are properly trained. If there is a dramaticly poor safety record for these things over the first couple of years, then the die will be cast for their future. It's in the manufacturers best interest to see that the safety record remains stellar.

 

Well said aero. I still maintain this "thousands of VLJs in the air" effect is not going to be all that some people say it will be. (I don't believe that John Q. Public will be heavily utilizing the VLJ fleet).

 

At M.65 I hope they stay below FL290!

 

Most of them are designed for flying in the low flight levels. I doubt they'll be of much concern to anybody but turboprop drivers.

I know a couple people that own high performance twins and a couple of them are paying more annually on insurance than they paid for their aircraft initially. How do you think the insurance is going to be for a jet?

Aero, I agree with on the manufacturers standpoint. But one only needs to look as far as Cirrus to see that a great factory training program may be in vain. They've had a high accident rate and nearly all of the accidents have come down to the pilot getting in over their head.

 

You've never seen my fly mine

But seriously, my company has 2 on order(#4 is the first). I can't wait, it'll be a nice jump for our business. I don't think they'll clout the airspace, because the real traffic jams occur below 10,000 where everything is mixing it up, and this jet will do 250. Anyways, why aren't people excited to find out? Not like the VLJ is going to end the airlines, capacity is obviously the issue there.

 

While I can see some companies buying a few of these VLJ. As stated earlier in a post INSURANCE will kill the dream. Can't imagine the premium on a 1.2 million dollars jet flown by some guy who used to roam around the good ol USA in his Baron or 310 and has never been above 15,000 feet. Something like $@250,000.00 a year just for the hull.

 

The Eclipse is many times easier to operate than a Baron. We had one through our airport about a month ago for a VLJ convention. Our D.O. got the opportunity to fly it and was blown away at the user friendly controls and cockpit.

Has anyone had actual quotes from their insurance companies or are you all just throwing around numbers?