The new VisionAire Vantage light business jet is in certification testing with first customer deliveries targeted by early 2000. Work is also proceeding on a design for a line of "Spirit" 2- to 6-place "sport jets."

To meet its late 1999 target certification date, VisionAire is adding a fourth flight test aircraft, the second production aircraft being built, to its flight test program, according to Jim Rice, company founder, chairman and CEO. Also flying are two prototypes. Production tooling is being installed in a new $15-million factory in Ames, Iowa, and the company has begun the local hiring process.

It won't be easy to miss VisionAire here at NBAA. There will be a Vantage prototype and Spirit mock-up at the McCarran Field static line. A Vantage mock-up will be displayed on the show floor.

Fueling progress is strong demand. VisionAire Corp. holds at least 150 orders for the Vantage worth over $240 million, Rice said. "We haven't even started our marketing program yet" for the all-composite, entry-level jet, he said. "We're just picking the low fruit." The single-engine Vantage currently is priced at about $1.8-million, around half the cost of its nearest comparable competitor, the Cessna CitationJet. The company has recorded sales in 39 U.S. states and eight foreign countries, demonstrating the breadth of the market, Rice said.

VisionAire's success, despite the abysmal record of "new" airplane designs and start-up manufacturers, is the result of careful market research and planning, Rice believes. "I came at this from being a [longtime light business aircraft] user. I just wasn't seeing the market develop an airplane that was faster, more comfortable and could still go into small runways," he said.

Following two years of research, Rice began shaping what would become the first in the Vantage family of light business jets, hiring experts and whittling down a total of 17 initial designs. He found a market gap between the performance of light jets currently in production and what the small and mid-sized business user needed. Climbing prices by Cessna and Learjet added to the opportunity.

"Sales have confirmed" the validity of the Vantage concept, according to Rice. As it stands now, the 7,500-pound maximum gross weight Vantage seats a total of six , has a cruise of 350 knots and a range of 1,000-naut. mi. at maximum cruise speed. Climb has been verified at over 3,000 fpm with approach speeds as low as 80 knots. The Vantage also can "get close to people's business operations" with its ability to fly from 2,500-ft. strips. That makes it far more utilitarian that other light business jets, he said. It's 41,000 ft cruise ceiling allows it to fly over most weather systems. operating cost is estimated at 40% less than comparable business jets.

More importantly, the Pratt & Whitney JT-15D-powered Vantage is "easy to fly," an important owner preference-and safety-factor, according to Rice. To date the type has accumulated 280 flight hours in almost 160 missions. Although there still is a lot of flying to do, he believes the company has "a good shot" at a late 1999 certification, although perhaps without icing approvals.

VisionAire has raised approximately $60-million in funding, about 25 percent of it from Iowa, Rice said. There are over 450 investors in the program, many of them aircraft operators or owners. The new plant, built by investors and leased back to VisionAire, plans to start production by July of next year, aiming toward having some aircraft ready for delivery immediately upon certification, Rice said. Initial production rate is set at 60 for 2000 and will double in 2001, Rice said. The ambitious ramp-up is made possible by the subcontract fabrication of the wing, horizontal and vertical stabilizers by Wyman-Gordon in a new, $10 million plant in Colorado. The fore and aft fuselages will be produced by AAR Corp in Clearwater, Fla.

The torrid 10 per month production tempo could even be increased further, Rice maintains. "We've only demonstrated the breadth of the market, not its depth" for investors, he said. For instance, multi-plane sales to the same user have been few. Target customers include Citation II jet, Pilatus PC-12 and Socata TBM 700 turboprop, Piper Malibu and Cessna 340 and C-421 owners. The company will be seeking market input on its proposed line of Spirit "recreational" light jets at NBAA. As envisioned, these would be powered by Williams turbofans or possibly a new Pratt & Whitney engine, Rice said. Such a jet would appeal to people who now fly a Bonanza. However the Spirit would fly twice as fast and three times as high. It would sell within 20 percent of the price of an A36 model Bonanza, Rice said.

Currently VisionAire has 170 employees, most at its headquarters at Spirit of St. Louis Airport in St. Louis. Although production will take place in Ames, the company's executive offices, design and marketing functions will remain in St. Louis.

By Paul Proctor