When Piper announced its new PiperJet at the National Business Aviation Association’s 59th Annual Meeting and Convention last October, it promised to create a whole new category of personal or business airplane. With an expected top cruise speed of 360 knots, IFR range of 1,300 nm, an operating ceiling of 35,000 feet, and all of that performance coming from a single turbofan jet engine,the PiperJet is unique. Piper says you can have all of this for $2.199 million in 2010.
It appears that the PiperJet, assuming it meets its objectives, would create a fourth category of light jet. The first category of the new light jets includes the Cessna Mustang, which is a totally conventional twin-engine jet that meets all of the traditional jet standards, including engine-out takeoff safety standards. The Mustang differs from larger business jets such as the Cessna CJ family only in size and cost, but not in terms of certification standards or levels of redundancy.
