Plane Facts: Very Light Jets

Fascinating facts about VLJs

Year that the term VLJ became widely used: Around 2000

Widely accepted definition of VLJ: Sub-10,000 pounds, single-pilot

First VLJ, kind of: Fouga Magister, twin-engine, 7,055 lbs, 385 knots, FL300

Introduced: 1956 for military training

Number built: Just under 1,000

Number flying today: Unknown, but still a popular civilian plane

Companies today that have rejected VLJ name: Cessna, Diamond, Embraer, Piper

"Fouga CM.170M Magister No.1" by RuthAS -- CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons

First large-scale VLJ program: Eclipse 500

First certificated VLJ: Cessna Mustang, 2006

Full FAA type certification for Mustang received: September 8, 2006

First flight: April 2005

First production model delivered: November 22, 2006

Range: 1,167 nm

Mustang production ended: May 2017

Reason given: Lack of demand

Reason widely believed: Price point too close to M2

Number of Mustangs built: 472

Cost, 2015: $3.35 million

Most shipped in one year (2009): 125

Advertised Mustang replacement: Citation M2

M2 type: C525 CitationJet

First C525 delivery: 1991

First 6,000-pound VLJ: Eclipse 500

First flight: August 2002

Awards: 2005 Collier Trophy

Full FAA type certification received: September 30, 2006

First delivery: December 31, 2006

Largest single order: 1,400 aircraft by DayJet

Number of aircraft accepted by DayJet: 28

Stated purpose: Proposed large-scale, per-seat, on-demand air taxi operations

Fate of such operations: Never happened

Eclipse 500 production halted: October 2008

Reason: Lack of capital---company entered bankruptcy

Rumored debt at time of bankruptcy: $1 billion

Number of Eclipse 500s built: 260

First VLJ with whole-aircraft ballistic parachute: Cirrus Vision Jet

First single-engine VLJ to receive FAA certification: Vision Jet

FAA type certification date: October 28, 2016 (first flight, July 2008)

Cruise speed: 300 ktas

Vision Jet cost, 2017: $1.96 million

Number of orders: 600+

Single-engine VLJ under development: Stratos 714

First flight: November 2016

Advertised range: Around 1,500 nm

Maximum cruise speed, provisional: 402 ktas

Certification timetable: Pending funding


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