Press Release
Issued by Green Charter 2022.
September 24, 2007
Grob Aerospace CEO Niall Olver announced today that firm orders for the sp nlight business jet globally had now passed 70 units, as interest in this very unique aircraft continues to grow following the company's introduction of the new Porsche Design Studio sp n interior at EBACE, Geneva in May this year. The raft of orders since EBACE has come from primarily corporate customers across predominantly Europe and the USA, adding to earlier announced orders for the sp n across four continents, including a couple of strategically key commitments out of operators in the Middle East.
"As the company continues to add more sales resource and support infrastructure globally to the sp n program" says Olver, "interest in the aircraft continues to build." To only very recently Grob Aerospace's marketing and sales focus had been quite deliberately Europe and North America. However, in the wake of a focus now on a broader global market, interest is quickly building in South America and key emerging markets in Far East, South East and Sub-Continent Asia. Although Olver won't be drawn on identifying specific customers, he was happy to concede that, "it shouldn't be long before Grob Aerospace will be in a position to start announcing orders from these exciting new business aviation markets".
Olver added that, "Because the market has responded so very well to the sp n, we are actually exceeding our sales targets. With our current order book we are confident that we will meet, or even exceed our goal to deliver 400 aircraft over the next 10 years, still projecting that at least half of the sales will come from North America."
With test aircraft No 3 now fully assembled with all systems installed, an intensive period of comprehensive ground testing of systems such as fuel, engines, hydraulics, landing gear and avionics is now underway. This will be followed month end by taxiing tests and, quickly thereafter, first flight. Test aircraft No 3 will also fly most of the systems that will be installed in the fully conforming series production aircraft.
With the airframe fatigue test in preparation a major milestone for the certification process of the sp n is imminent. Fatigue testing will be undertaken in-house and is scheduled to start in Q4 2007. Testing will simulate 84,000 flight hours and 51,000 landings and pressurization cycles to a minimum of 28,000 hours' and 17'000 landings.
It is already well understood in the market that ongoing maintenance of the sp n is simplified due to the aircraft's fully carbon fiber construction, thereby virtually avoiding fatigue or corrosion problems that face metal aircraft. However, with the goal of further simplifying maintainability, Grob Aerospace has relocated certain systems into the wing fairing, including the oxygen system, single point pressure fuelling and some electrical power distribution. This equipment will be easily accessible through large access panels; designs motivated by the positive reaction from future maintainers and owners to the large panels already allowing easy access to sp n avionics and hydraulics systems in the forward nose compartment.
In a final statement on the direction of the flight test program Olver reiterated earlier commitments announcing that a further three sp njets will support the flight test program following the introduction of the third prototype. Olver disclosed that production of the fourth test aircraft was already well under way and is scheduled to join the flight test program in Q4 2007. This will be in due course followed by the first two series production aircraft, both of which will join the flight the test program for functional reliability testing.
As to what planned production spec equipment is specifically installed on the third test aircraft, Olver drew specific attention to the landing gear, for which drop tests to confirm strength and energy absorption are due for completion by the end of this month. Developed by industry leader Liebherr Aerospace, the main trailing link landing gear as well as the nose landing gear boasts a very robust design, allow the sp n to land regularly on unpaved airfields. Sitting higher than most aircraft in this class, the extra clearance provided by the landing gear ensures the aircraft is less exposed to debris, stability enhanced by carbon fiber brakes powered by a hydraulic braking system with anti-skid.
Olver took time to also emphasize some of the aircraft's other unique attributes for its size and category, such as its large speed-brakes and ground spoilers which, together with the large Fowler flaps, are designed to provide excellent landing characteristics, even on very short and/or unpaved runways traditionally reserved for turboprops. "The philosophy and technology we have employed on the sp n will enable the aircraft to undertake steep approaches at operationally challenging airports such as Aspen (CO) and London City in the UK, a significant selling point making the aircraft very appealing across all markets.
