Raytheon has reported that despite completing the wing joining for the new super mid-size jet, the Horizon's first flight, slated for late this year, has been postponed until the first quarter of 2000.\rRegarding FAA certification of the Horizon, Tom Reichenberger, director of the Horizon business unit, said that the aircraft is due to be certified "about a year or more ahead of Bombardier's Continental jet." The Continental is due to be certified in September 2002. \rWhile Raytheon is seeking concurrent FAA and JAA certification, meetings are said to be continuing "on schedule," but the company won't know if this is possible until early next year. Raytheon reports 100 firm orders for the Horizon. 50 of these are for Executive Jet's NetJets project, with a further 50 options being held. A spokesman for Executive Jet said: "We don't like delays, obviously, but we think its a great aircraft, and we are looking forward to adding it to the NetJets fleet."\rRaytheon announced in October that it was increasing production of the Horizon by 50 per cent, from 24 to 36 aircraft per year. This increased production is said to be made possible with the addition of two new Cincinnati Machine Viper fibre placement machines for the aircraft's composite fuselage.\rThe recently joined wing arrived early this year in two pieces from Fuji Heavy Industries, a risk sharing supplier for the Horizon programme. According to sources at Raytheon Aircraft, one third of the first Horizon is complete, and the next step will be to assemble the main landing gear.