Los Angeles, CA - December 2005 — Start-up Spectrum Aeronautical of Encinitas, Calif., joined the crowded very light jet segment last month unveiling it's nine-seat, $3.65 million all-composite VLJ.
Managing director Linden Blue bills the 7,300-pound-mtow Spectrum 33–powered by a pair of Williams International FJ33 engines–as a “full-size airplane at half the weight.”
The program has been under way for about five years, and the company has built a full-functional Spectrum 33 prototype, at its Utah facility. It is expected to fly by the end of next month, with FAA certification scheduled for late 2007 or early 2008.
Six aircraft, four flight-test aircraft and two ground-test articles-will participate in FAA certification trials. Blue reported that veteran test pilot Pete Reynolds will direct Spectrum’s flight-test program.
Blue said the use of composites and building techniques (the stiffened monocoque structure has no honeycomb core) make the airplane light enough to be classified as a very light jet. A company spokesman said the Spectrum 33 will have a three-screen glass cockpit with triple-redundant air-data/attitude heading reference system, though the company has yet to choose an avionics vendor. The cockpit will also have side-stick controllers and a pull-out keyboard and trackball, the company said.
The twinjet’s lightweight structure allows Spectrum to use two 1,568-pound-thrust FJ33-4As, which are smaller, lighter and less powerful than turbofans installed on comparably sized, current-production airplanes. Because the engines weigh only 290 pounds each, Spectrum engineers mounted them far aft near the tailcone, a configuration that Blue predicts will mitigate cabin noise.
Thanks to the smaller engines, the Spectrum 33’s fuel cost per nautical mile is projected to be 71 cents, about the same as that of the nearest competitors' airplanes. Specifications for the twinjet include a high-speed cruise of 415 knots, 2,000-nm VFR range, 3,895-pound useful
load and 2,000-pound payload.
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