Piper PA-47 PiperJet
Encyclopedia
The Piper PA-47 PiperJet was a single-engined very light jet
(VLJ) that was intended to be developed and built by Piper Aircraft. However, following a change of ownership at Piper, it was decided to redesign the aircraft into the PiperJet Altaire. Despite being technically successful, the Altaire project was cancelled in October 2011 due to economic conditions.
and Cessna Citation Mustang
. The aircraft's fuselage was the same cross section as the propeller-driven Piper PA-46 series, with a four-foot increase in length. It was to be capable of carrying up to 7 passengers and cruise at 360 knots (705.5 km/h), at a maximum altitude of 35000 feet (10,668 m). Maximum range was expected to be 1300 nautical miles (2,407.6 km), with a full-fuel payload of 800 pounds. Piper selected Williams International to supply its FJ44-3AP
turbofan
engine for the PiperJet.
Due to the engine's being mounted above the center of gravity, power was highly stabilizing
(addition of power would push the nose down), which could have been disconcerting to pilots. Initially, Piper designers incorporated an automatic pitch trim system to coordinate horizontal stabilizer
angle of incidence with power setting. This system was later replaced by a vectored thrust
nozzle, developed by Williams International, which resulted in reduced weight and simplified manufacturing processes.
A design feature of the aircraft was the use of a "straight duct air intake" design for the vertical stabilizer
(tail) mounted engine, similar in engineering design concept to a McDonnell Douglas DC-10
, rather than the s-duct
arrangement of most trijet
aircraft designs such as the Dassault Falcon 900.
A selling price of US$
2.199 million in 2006 dollars was initially set and as of February 19, 2007, Piper announced that it had received 180 pre-orders. An entry-into-service date of early 2010 was initially anticipated, later changed to 2011-12. In October 2009 the company indicated that it had delayed the delivery of the first customer aircraft to mid 2013 and had informed depositors.
The PiperJet did not enter production and in October 2010 Piper announced it would instead develop an aircraft with a larger circular-section fuselage known as the Piper PiperJet Altaire. The 160 customers who had placed orders for the PiperJet retained their delivery positions with the new aircraft and at the same $2.2 million price.
prototype, the Altaire featured a slightly larger fuselage with a rounded cross-section, and included a conventional control yoke for flight control, as opposed to the original PiperJet's side-stick controller.
Piper had been tooling up its facilities in Vero Beach, Florida (USA) to build four Altaire prototypes to be used for FAA (safety & performance) certification of the aircraft through 2013. First delivery of aircraft to customers was scheduled for 2014. The first flight was expected in 2012.
The fuselage of the original Piperjet was designed using the Piper Meridian single-engine turboprop as a template. The new owners of Piper, "Imprimis", found fault with this design prompting a revision without direct reference to the Meridian. According to Piper CEO Geoffrey Berger, "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,". The new fuselage design provided an additional 4 inches of headroom and nine more inches of elbow room and does away with a "hump" in the cabin floor that accommodated the wing spar in the old design.
The Altaire had been designed for single-pilot operation allowing one passenger to occupy the co-pilot's seat. Combined with 4 passenger seats in the cabin behind the flight deck, the jet would typically have seated 5 passengers. The cabin would have been specially configured to add an additional seat such that a total of 6 passengers can be accommodated in addition to the pilot. There was 20 cubic feet (566.3 l) of baggage space behind the passenger seats and another 20 cu ft (566.3 l). of heated but unpressurized space in the nose of the aircraft.
The Altaire would have been powered by the Williams International
FJ44-3AP
. This model of engine employs a "passive vectored thrust" design that helps compensate for nose-down pitch of the aircraft when power is increased as a result of mounting the engine relatively high up in the tail. Piper estimated that this engine would get the Altaire up to a 35000 feet (10,668 m) maximum cruise altitude and a 320 knot cruise speed. Maximum cruise speed was projected to be 360 knots. The aircraft was expected to have a 1200 to 1300 nmi (2,222.4 to 2,407.6 km) non-stop range.
The aircraft was expected to retail for around $2.6 million (US), 'standard' equipped. Piper estimates variable operating cost at about $730 (US) per hour. This compares with about $870 (US) for the comparable model Cessna "Mustang".
opposition to certifying
a single engined jet to 35000 ft (10,668 m) and the lack of economic reasoning as the aircraft would cost the same as most twin-engined jets. Niles called on Piper saying, "the sooner it ends its "review" of the project and puts a bullet in it the better." On 24 October 2011, despite the Altaire's development being "on schedule and on budget", the program was indefinitely suspended by Piper due to economic issues, with the company laying off a number of workers who had been assigned to the project. It was stated the company would entertain offers for the PiperJet/Altaire project.
Very Light Jet
A very light jet, entry-level jet or personal jet, previously known as a microjet, is a category of small jet aircraft approved for single-pilot operation, seating 4-8 people, with a maximum take-off weight of under...
(VLJ) that was intended to be developed and built by Piper Aircraft. However, following a change of ownership at Piper, it was decided to redesign the aircraft into the PiperJet Altaire. Despite being technically successful, the Altaire project was cancelled in October 2011 due to economic conditions.
PiperJet
The PiperJet was announced in October 2006, as a competitor to the twin-engined Eclipse 500Eclipse 500
The Eclipse 500 is a small six-seat business jet aircraft manufactured by Eclipse Aviation.Eclipse 500 became the first of a new class of Very Light Jet when it was delivered in late 2006...
and Cessna Citation Mustang
Cessna Citation Mustang
|-Operators:The aircraft is operated by private individuals, companies and executive charter operators. A number of companies also use the aircraft as part of fractional ownership programs.-See also:-External links:* * * * .* * * *...
. The aircraft's fuselage was the same cross section as the propeller-driven Piper PA-46 series, with a four-foot increase in length. It was to be capable of carrying up to 7 passengers and cruise at 360 knots (705.5 km/h), at a maximum altitude of 35000 feet (10,668 m). Maximum range was expected to be 1300 nautical miles (2,407.6 km), with a full-fuel payload of 800 pounds. Piper selected Williams International to supply its FJ44-3AP
Williams FJ44
-External links:*...
turbofan
Turbofan
The turbofan is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used for aircraft propulsion. A turbofan combines two types of engines, the turbo portion which is a conventional gas turbine engine, and the fan, a propeller-like ducted fan...
engine for the PiperJet.
Due to the engine's being mounted above the center of gravity, power was highly stabilizing
Flight dynamics
Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of mass, known as pitch, roll and yaw .Aerospace engineers develop control systems for...
(addition of power would push the nose down), which could have been disconcerting to pilots. Initially, Piper designers incorporated an automatic pitch trim system to coordinate horizontal stabilizer
Tailplane
A tailplane, also known as horizontal stabilizer , is a small lifting surface located on the tail behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes...
angle of incidence with power setting. This system was later replaced by a vectored thrust
Thrust vectoring
Thrust vectoring, also thrust vector control or TVC, is the ability of an aircraft, rocket or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine or motor in order to control the attitude or angular velocity of the vehicle....
nozzle, developed by Williams International, which resulted in reduced weight and simplified manufacturing processes.
A design feature of the aircraft was the use of a "straight duct air intake" design for the vertical stabilizer
Vertical stabilizer
The vertical stabilizers, vertical stabilisers, or fins, of aircraft, missiles or bombs are typically found on the aft end of the fuselage or body, and are intended to reduce aerodynamic side slip. It is analogical to a skeg on boats and ships.On aircraft, vertical stabilizers generally point upwards...
(tail) mounted engine, similar in engineering design concept to a McDonnell Douglas DC-10
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...
, rather than the s-duct
S-duct
An S-duct is a unique type of jet engine intake duct, used in several types of trijet aircraft. In this configuration, the intake is in the upper rear center of the aircraft, just below the stabilizer, while the exhaust is at the rear of the aircraft. The S-duct is located in the tail, or...
arrangement of most trijet
Trijet
A Trijet is an aircraft powered by three jet engines. Early twin-jet designs were limited by the FAA's "60-minute rule", whereby the flight path of twin-engined jetliners was restricted to within 60 minutes' flying time from a suitable airport, in case of engine failure. In 1964 this rule was...
aircraft designs such as the Dassault Falcon 900.
A selling price of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2.199 million in 2006 dollars was initially set and as of February 19, 2007, Piper announced that it had received 180 pre-orders. An entry-into-service date of early 2010 was initially anticipated, later changed to 2011-12. In October 2009 the company indicated that it had delayed the delivery of the first customer aircraft to mid 2013 and had informed depositors.
The PiperJet did not enter production and in October 2010 Piper announced it would instead develop an aircraft with a larger circular-section fuselage known as the Piper PiperJet Altaire. The 160 customers who had placed orders for the PiperJet retained their delivery positions with the new aircraft and at the same $2.2 million price.
Altaire
Based on the PA-47 PiperJetPiper PA-47 PiperJet
The Piper PA-47 PiperJet was a single-engined very light jet that was intended to be developed and built by Piper Aircraft. However, following a change of ownership at Piper, it was decided to redesign the aircraft into the PiperJet Altaire...
prototype, the Altaire featured a slightly larger fuselage with a rounded cross-section, and included a conventional control yoke for flight control, as opposed to the original PiperJet's side-stick controller.
Piper had been tooling up its facilities in Vero Beach, Florida (USA) to build four Altaire prototypes to be used for FAA (safety & performance) certification of the aircraft through 2013. First delivery of aircraft to customers was scheduled for 2014. The first flight was expected in 2012.
The fuselage of the original Piperjet was designed using the Piper Meridian single-engine turboprop as a template. The new owners of Piper, "Imprimis", found fault with this design prompting a revision without direct reference to the Meridian. According to Piper CEO Geoffrey Berger, "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,". The new fuselage design provided an additional 4 inches of headroom and nine more inches of elbow room and does away with a "hump" in the cabin floor that accommodated the wing spar in the old design.
The Altaire had been designed for single-pilot operation allowing one passenger to occupy the co-pilot's seat. Combined with 4 passenger seats in the cabin behind the flight deck, the jet would typically have seated 5 passengers. The cabin would have been specially configured to add an additional seat such that a total of 6 passengers can be accommodated in addition to the pilot. There was 20 cubic feet (566.3 l) of baggage space behind the passenger seats and another 20 cu ft (566.3 l). of heated but unpressurized space in the nose of the aircraft.
The Altaire would have been powered by the Williams International
Williams International
Williams International is a manufacturer of small gas turbine engines based in Walled Lake, Michigan, United States. It produces jet engines for cruise missiles and small jet-powered aircraft.- History :...
FJ44-3AP
Williams FJ44
-External links:*...
. This model of engine employs a "passive vectored thrust" design that helps compensate for nose-down pitch of the aircraft when power is increased as a result of mounting the engine relatively high up in the tail. Piper estimated that this engine would get the Altaire up to a 35000 feet (10,668 m) maximum cruise altitude and a 320 knot cruise speed. Maximum cruise speed was projected to be 360 knots. The aircraft was expected to have a 1200 to 1300 nmi (2,222.4 to 2,407.6 km) non-stop range.
The aircraft was expected to retail for around $2.6 million (US), 'standard' equipped. Piper estimates variable operating cost at about $730 (US) per hour. This compares with about $870 (US) for the comparable model Cessna "Mustang".
Cancellation
On 17 October 2011 the company announced that the PiperJet Altaire program was "under review". Piper's new interim CEO, appointed that same day, Simon Caldecott said, "This is being undertaken to ensure the company is properly aligning business goals and light-jet market forecasts with investment strategies and economic forecasts." The next day, on 18 October 2011, AVweb editor-in-chief Russ Niles called for the project to be ended, calling it "unrealistic" to pursue the design in the face of Federal Aviation AdministrationFederal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
opposition to certifying
Type certificate
A Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
a single engined jet to 35000 ft (10,668 m) and the lack of economic reasoning as the aircraft would cost the same as most twin-engined jets. Niles called on Piper saying, "the sooner it ends its "review" of the project and puts a bullet in it the better." On 24 October 2011, despite the Altaire's development being "on schedule and on budget", the program was indefinitely suspended by Piper due to economic issues, with the company laying off a number of workers who had been assigned to the project. It was stated the company would entertain offers for the PiperJet/Altaire project.