VLJ key to Piper’s strategy for the future | Aviation International News

VLJ key to Piper’s strategy for the future

Piper Aircraft president Jim Bass has laid out a clear strategy for carrying the company into the next decade by expanding its line of cabin-class singles,

By Mark Huber • Contributor

September 30, 2008

Piper Aircraft president Jim Bass has laid out a clear strategy for carrying the company into the next decade by expanding its line of cabin-class singles, from piston-powered models to the PiperJet. Bass said the company has no plans to adopt Cessna’s style of capturing clientele with light sport aircraft and then moving them up the product line. “Big-cabin, single-engine airplanes clearly strike a chord in the marketplace,” he said, and that is the part of the market on which Piper intends to direct its focus.

“The PiperJet is our future,” Bass said. The single-engine PiperJet prototype made its first flight on July 30. The seven-seat, $2.2 million (2006 $) compact jet is projected to have a top speed of 360 knots, a service ceiling of 35,000 feet and a range of 1,300 nm. Two more prototypes are scheduled to join the test fleet next year.

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