Very light jets' set to tranform industry

By JIM THARPE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/05/07

They're sleek. They're fast. They're relatively inexpensive. And they're about to change the face of general aviation — for better or worse, depending on who's talking.

VLJs — the aviation world's term for "very light jets" — will soon be debuting at small airports across Georgia and the rest of the nation. That's a vision that brings smiles to the faces of private pilots, but makes commercial aviation officials and some safety experts grimace.

"Every time I think about these, I visualize the old Jetsons cartoon with George Jetson in his glass-walled house with all of these little things zipping around," said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association. "It certainly causes concern."

Castelveter's organization, which represents the commercial airlines, testified before the U.S. Senate that if swarms of the small jets take to the skies it could create even more delays for the airline passengers and jeopardize safety.

Baloney, say proponents of the small jets. They argue the personal jets, which have a range of about 1,300 miles, will generally fly below the air space used by passenger jets. And insurance restrictions, they contend, will force private pilots to undergo intensive training before zooming around the increasingly crowded skies.

The small aircraft — they generally have two to six seats and weigh less than 10,000 pounds — offer the performance of high-end business jets at a fraction of the cost. About 20 VLJ models are now in various stages of design, certification and production. Most will cost between $1 million to $3 million and big companies like Honda and Cessna have gotten in the race to mass produce the pint-sized jets.

Experts estimate there could be 4,000 to 10,000 of the new personal jets in service within a decade or so.

Jonathan Sweatman, an Atlanta-based sales manager for a company that markets the Diamond D-Jet, said the airlines are howling because they fear the VLJs are going to skim off their highest-paying passengers.

DayJet, an air taxi service using Eclipse 500, a VLJ already on the market, recently began operations in Florida and plans to soon expand into Georgia. The company's pitch: Avoid the crowds and delays at hubs like Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and fly hassle-free aboard your own jet into smaller airports.

"The threat to the airlines has got nothing to do with safety," Sweatman said. "It has everything to do with the fact that the people who used to sit in their first-class seats are now going to pay to sit in their own jet aircraft because they are sick and tired of the appalling service the airlines are now offering."

But some experts worry a lot about the millionaire-next-door running out to buy the latest aviation toy. Many of the new jets fly at twice the speed of piston-powered aircraft and many private pilots simply don't have the skills to control them, some experts contend.

"It's the speed. It's all about the speed," said Brian Alexander, a pilot and aviation lawyer with the Manhattan firm of Kreindler & Kreindler. "It's going from a Model T to a Porsche."

One VLJ now under development, the ATG Javelin, is a two-seater that looks like a fighter jet and will be marketed to private pilots as well as the military as a trainer. ATG sales representatives say it will let well-heeled businessmen fly the airborne equivalent of a Lamborghini on once-boring business trips. It can travel at more than 500 mph.

The company's Web site boasts: "Designed to turn heads. Built to perform."

That sort of promotion worries Alexander.

"They're unfortunately going to become lawn darts," Alexander said. "They have to raise the bar for training for people who want to fly these faster aircraft."

David Basha, a Gainesville car dealer and pilot who has ordered a VLJ from Diamond, said those worries are misplaced.

"I don't think the insurance industry will allow pilots to fly planes beyond their capability," said Bahsa, who hopes to take possession of his single-engine D-Jet late next year. "There will be a lot of pre-conditions."

Basha currently flies a high-performance, twin-engine Cessna Conquest 1, which has a maximum speed of about 300 mph. His D-Jet will top out at about 350 mph, he said.

He pays about $35,000 a year for insurance and figures that will go up for his jet.

"It will be a high-risk policy," he said. "You'll have very few companies that want to be in that business."

Basha said he will use his jet to visit his North Carolina beach property, to visit friends in Florida and for business. He figures his $1.3 million jet will cost about half as much to fly as his current plane.

"It's an eight-hour drive to North Carolina and an hour-and-10-minute flight," he said.

WSB Radio talk show host Neal Boortz, a pilot for 25 years, has also lined up to buy a D-Jet. Boortz said his insurance company probably will require 50 to 60 hours of training with a mentor pilot in the cockpit of his new plane. And that's just for starters. Another 50 hours of solo flight will be probably be required before he can carry passengers.

"The insurance company will kick my butt," Boortz said.

Boortz currently flies a piston-driven Mooney, which has a top speed of about 220 mph. He will pick up 130 mph or so with his new jet.

"To pilots, speed is everything, and you get the speed advantage with a jet," Boortz said.

Bob Everson, the Federal Aviation Administration's director of tactical operations for the Midwest, said he thinks most of the new jets will fly at 20,000 feet or so, far below the level of most commercial jets.

Everson said he does not anticipate any major air-traffic problems with the jets in the next few years.

"We're going to ensure safety first," Everson said. "We're never going to degrade safety."