Former Learjet CEO Sets Out To Build Supersonic Bizjet

Pop quiz: What's the biggest hurdle to developing a supersonic bizjet?

• A. Lack of a sufficiently powerful, yet economical powerplant
• B. That loud, pesky sound barrier
• C. The fact that no company has yet strapped on the cojones to overcome obstacles A and B

Answer:

• D. All of the above.

But that may soon change if former Learjet CEO Brian Barents has anything to do with it. When the NBAA gathers in Las Vegas next month, Barents (right) says he'll announce plans for a bizjet capable of breaking the sound barrier.

His company, Aerion Corp., is based in Reno. So far, nobody there is talking about details of the project.

"I really can't," said Jeff Miller, president of Blake-Miller Communications, who's handling media inquiries about the project, when he was asked by the Wichita Business Journal for details.

Barents, a retired USAF brigadier general, certainly has a track record -- but it's mostly in the build-'em-up-and-sell-'em field. For instance, he negotiated the sale of Learjet to Bombardier. As CEO of Galaxy Aerospace, he worked a buyout deal with Gulfstream Aerospace, a division of General Dynamics.

Right now, of course, the fasted business jet around is the Cessna Citation X, which cruises at 525 KTAS when at altitude. But Barents may be out to top that mark -- and then some.

FMI: www.aerioncorp.com