…Or Build A (Roomier, More Expensive) Compair Jet

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Aerocomp flew its new kit-jet into the show. The jet has accumulated 43 flight hours since its first flight last June, said company President Steve Young, and it’s been signed off so they can fly people in it besides the test pilot. The interior is not finished yet, and the start system still needs some tweaking, but he says they’re satisfied that it’s ready enough to start taking orders. The big six-foot tall cabin can fit up to nine seats, and it’s single-pilot … operable. With “full everything,” the price is about $866,000. Base price — for the kit — with engine but minus interior and avionics is just $449,000. The company is developing a factory-assist builders’ center, says Young. For now they are delivering the kit with parts in “a high state of completion.” Any homebuilder who can tackle a Glasair or Lancair can handle this jet, he said. “It’s the same thing, just bigger.” A turbo-prop is in the works. There is plenty of factory support, but owners should be prepared to invest about 3,000 hours along with all that cash. For now, Aerocomp plans to offer the jet as a kit only, Young said, with no immediate plans to seek certification. The jet uses a single AI-25 bypass engine, built by Nanchanko in Russia and is used in the L39 Albatross and Yak 40. It will produce up to 3,400 lbs. of thrust. There’s a market out there for about 2,500 kit jets over the next 10 years, Young estimates.

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