ASSI Jetcruzer In 'Heavy Flight Testing'

At AASI Aircraft they are not backward in being forward. Executive VP Gene Comfort does not hesitate to describe the new Jetcruzer 500 as "the hottest, most powerful, sexiest propjet ever built" - and the company's advertising says exactly the same thing. The Jetcruzer 500 is a refined development of the previous Jetcruzer 450, and will become the standard production model.

The Jetcruzer 450 was certified to FAR Pt 23 standards in June 1994 and two development aircraft were built. Today's Model 500 is based on the earlier design but is stretched to accommodate six passengers, pressurized and powered by an uprated PT6A-66A turboprop driving a Hartzell five-bladed pusher prop (the same engine/spinner/propeller combination found on the recently relaunched Piaggio Avanti).

Discussing the program status, Comfort said, "There was only one major test that we could not accomplish with the 450 and, in May, we achieved that when we tested and FAA-certified the pressurized 500 up to 30,000 feet. We have put that together with our previous certification experience and asked the FAA to approve an amended type certificate for the 500. That is now underway.

"The minute we get that certification we'll be a faster, higher-flying, increased gross weight aircraft. We are very close to launching the Jetcruzer 500 into production-it will start before the end of this year.

"Right now we are in very heavy flight test. We have excellent high speed performance, and the combination of speed and low price is paramount. We are burying the antennas and redesigning the inlets to get every extra half a knot for the customers, because they just love speed." In August the Jetcruzer's new engine cooling system passed company testing for 120° F 'hot-field' starts and takeoffs.

Discussing the funding behind the Jetcruzer, Comfort acknowledged that, "Financially we are in good shape. We now have a $20 million line of credit which we don't anticipate tapping into but it's nice to have." In August AASI closed a private equity line of credit agreement with private investors. These investors have committed to purchase up to $20 million of common shares over the course of two years. "We took the company public in 1997", he continued, "and we are now NASDAQ traded.

"Dr Chen (Dr Carl Chen, AASI's president and CEO) received some money from private investors for development of the 450, then we got $32 million from the public flotation. That Taiwanese contribution has translated into shares, so they own a percentage of the company alongside Dr Chen's holding and the public holding."

The twin-jet Stratocruzer 1250 project, described as a "long-range dream aircraft", is currently on hold. The FJ 44-2-powered Stratocruzer has a projected price tag of $3.5 million and should deliver a 3,700 nmi range. Work began as far back as 1994 and AASI now has an aircraft that is essentially complete, but which remains unflown.

According to Comfort, "the company's underwriters liked the twin-jet but were are concentrating on the Jetcruzer first. To fund the Stratocruzer the underwriters have put a warrant on our shares. If the unit price reaches $12 (they are currently valued at about $2.50) they will call in that warrant, which will release $70 million in funding. There is also a warrant worth $150 million if the shares reach $15 each. The only way to get this money is if our shares go up, but when we get our certification amendment and start deliveries then shares will go up."

AASI plans to have one static and one flying Jetcruzer 500 at NBAA, and hopes that the second flying aircraft will also visit the show. Production of the first customer aircraft is now underway-this will be the fourth Jetcruzer 500, as the third will be held back for additional flight testing (and then sold on).

AASI is marketing the Jetcruzer very aggressively, with aircraft like the Socata TBM 700 and Pilatus PC-12 firmly in its sights. According to Gene Comfort, "We have 188 announced sales and a $226 million backlog. Some private companies will count Letters of Intent as sales, but not us. We are an SEC-regulated company now and when we say we have 188 aircraft on order we'd better have just that. We are very, very cautious about our announcements. The 188 orders and $226 million backlog are extremely firm figures."

By Robert Hewson