October 30, 2005 Sino Swearingen Bizjet Gets TC

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By Russ Niles, Newswriter, Editor

Sino Swearingen has received almost unlimited type certification for its SJ30-2 business jet but there are still a few details to be looked after before the planes can actually be sold. Although it has full approval for day and night VFR and IFR operations, the FAA still has to sign off on the speedy jet's deicing system and interior before the production line can gear up. Chief Financial Officer Kelly Simmons told the San Antonio Business Journal that both certifications are expected in two months and the first of 280 SJ30-2s on order should be in a customer's hands in early 2006. Although Sino-Swearingen is based in San Antonio and has a plant in Martinsville, WV, its financial roots are in the Far East. The company is 95 percent owned by the Taiwanese government's Sino Aerospace Investment Corporation and Taiwan is not only taking some of the credit, it's also hoping to reap the rewards. Taiwanese Chairman Kuo Ching-chiang told reporters the plane's development was "a milestone for Taiwan's aeronautics industry," and said he hoped Taiwan would benefit from the transfer of US technology.