Piper Aircraft has announced a raft of updates to its PiperJet program at the US NBAA Convention in Atlanta this week.
Piper’s personal jet program, originally announced in late 2006, has gained considerable steam over the last 12 months and the manufacturer is now investing considerably in the project. With a mock-up of the PiperJet on display, Piper used the 63rd Annual Meeting and Convention of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) as the platform to rename the aircraft the ‘PiperJet Altaire’.
Piper also announced a redesign of the fuselage of the aircraft to make it larger and rounder and provide a more spacious cabin. The newly named PiperJet Altaire’s redesigned fuselage is mounted on top of an expanded-chord wing, with a shorter vertical empennage located slightly aft atop an elongated engine nacelle.
The original PiperJet design incorporated an M-class cabin cross section similar that of the Piper Meridian, Malibu and Matrix. But Piper says with the redesign the round fuselage and new wing will provide all the performance and cabin improvements of a clean sheet aircraft.
“While the earlier PiperJet design, with its Piper M-class cabin cross section, provided a comfortable environment, we wanted to give our jet customers an even roomier light jet that incorporates a scalable design paving the way for a future family of competitive business jets,” Piper CEO Geoffrey Berger said.
In addition to cleaner and sleeker styling, the new configuration creates a cabin that is nine inches taller and four inches wider than the previous design. The new cross section also offers a wider than standard sunken aisle for ease of movement inside the cabin. Additionally, the PiperJet Altaire will have a three-foot wide cabin door for ease of passenger entry and exit while providing great cargo flexibility.
Piper Executive Vice President Randy Groom says the PiperJet Altaire improvements are based upon the baseline proof of concept PiperJet, which has flown more than 375 flight test hours and executed more than 350 takeoffs and landings. Piper is aiming for the aircraft to have a maximum range of 1300nm and a maximum cruise speed of 360 knots.
Up front the PiperJet Altaire features Garmin G3000 avionics complete with the first touch screen-controlled glass panel designed for light turbine aircraft, three displays, two touch screens and a GFC 700 automatic flight control system.
It will also come with the L-3 Avionics Systems Trilogy ESI-2000 Electronic Standby Instrument with battery backup as standard. The L-3 Trilogy ESI-2000 is a safety-enhancing digital standby instrument designed to complement today’s glass avionics.
And while the PiperJet proof of concept test aircraft featured side stick controls, in the PiperJet Altaire the side stick will be replaced with standard control yokes.
The starting price point for the seven-seat PiperJet Altaire is US$2.5 million, with a typically equipped aircraft priced at US$2.6 million. And its manufacturer claims the PiperJet Altaire costs an average of 25 per cent less to operate per hour than comparable production very light jets.
Currently undergoing CAD modeling and analysis in the program’s detail design phase, the first of four conforming PiperJet Altair flight test aircraft will begin flying in 2012. Certification and first customer deliveries have been pushed back slightly and are now slated for 2014.
The PiperJet Altaire. (Piper)
