Now Branded The Altaire, It Features A Larger Cabin, "Design
Improvements"
Piper Aircraft has taken parts of the PiperJet back to the
drawing board, and it has come away with an airplane with a much
larger round fuselage design that gives customers an even more
spacious cabin to complement already efficient acquisition and
operating costs.
PiperJet Altaire Image Courtesy Piper
The single-pilot PiperJet Altaire, as it is now named, is being
unveiled at the 63rd Annual Meeting and Convention of the National
Business Aviation Association, which begins today in Atlanta.
"While the earlier PiperJet design, with it's 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," said Piper CEO Geoffrey Berger.
The newly named PiperJet Altaire features a new configuration.
Its larger redesigned round fuselage is mounted on top of an
expanded-chord wing, with a shorter vertical empennage located
slightly aft atop an elongated engine nacelle. "The PiperJet
Altaire is a powerful and stylish blend of efficiency, cabin
volume, range, payload and speed," Berger says. Price point for the
PiperJet Altaire is $2.5 million, with a typically equipped
aircraft priced at $2.6 million. The PiperJet Altaire costs an
average of 25 percent less to operate per hour than comparable
production very light jets.
PiperJet Altair Image Courtesy Piper
The round fuselage and new wing provide all the performance and
cabin improvements of a clean sheet aircraft coupled with the
proven reliability of Piper's manufacturing techniques honed over
the decades with the company's lineup of reliable airplanes,
including M-class aircraft - the Meridian, Malibu and Matrix. "The
innovative PiperJet Altair combines revolutionary single-engine
performance with ground-breaking efficiency, making it the fiscally
responsible choice for aircraft operators," Berger says. "The bonus
for owners is that it also features the room and comfort of a
twin-engine business jet."
In addition to cleaner and sleeker styling, the optimized
configuration gives customers 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. "Clearly, the
PiperJet Altaire looks spectacular and has operating efficiency and
reliability to back up its exceptional styling," said Piper
Executive Vice President Randy Groom. PiperJet Altaire
improvements, Groom says, are based upon the baseline proof of
concept PiperJet, which has flown more than 375 flight test hours
and executed more than350 takeoffs and landings.
The PiperJet Altaire will have dynamic crew and passenger seats
for increased safety and comfort, The airplane also has a club
seating arrangement in the cabin, with an optional seventh seat
located across the aisle from the entry door. A lavatory, storage
compartment, or entertainment center is easily interchangeable for
that seat. With a wide drop-down aisle, no wing spar intrusion, LED
lighting, and dual controlled environmental system, The PiperJet
Altaire's interior has been styled for superior passenger
comfort.
PiperJet Altaire Image Courtesy Piper
Piper says the PiperJet Altaire's maximum range is targeted at
1,300 nautical miles with a maximum cruise speed planned at 360
knots. The airplane is planned to fly 1,200 nautical miles
with a full fuel payload of 800 pounds.
Now 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 are planned for 2014, slightly after the
previously scheduled date. "I believe our customers will accept
their new delivery dates because they get a much improved and
efficient aircraft with enviable performance," Groom says.
In the cockpit, the airplane is equipped with an integrated flight
deck. It 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. Flight controls in the new, larger PiperJet
Altaire cockpit will be yokes, replacing the side stick controls
flown on the PiperJet proof of concept test article. The improved
aircraft will also have crew seats that are easier to access and an
ergodynamic interface between pilot and avionics.