The inaugural flight of the Stratos 714 Very Light Personal Jet (VLPJ) was completed successfully on November 21, 2016, in Redmond, Oregon.
With Dave Morss at the controls, the four seat, personal jet aircraft was launched for a 10-minute flight to verify general stability and systems operation. This flight’s maximum speed was limited to 128kts at an altitude of 3,700ft above ground level, with the flaps at 24° and the gear extended for the duration. Morss was satisfied with the overall handling and provided the development team with useful feedback.
Stratos will continue with a vigorous flight test program to explore the aircraft’s flight envelope with expectations of achieving a cruise speed of more than 400kts and a range of 1,500 nautical miles.
“After years of development, the first flight was a very exciting event for the whole team,” said Michael Lemaire, Stratos Aircraft CEO. “We invested the time and effort in the initial design and construction phases to assure that this proof of concept aircraft would ease the path to certification. After flight testing is complete, we will pursue a type certificate. We could shave off a considerable amount of certification time and start producing finished aircraft with additional investment, of course.”
Kevin Jordan, chief sales officer, added, “At this time, we are not taking deposits or orders but we have made it possible for interested parties to register on our website for airplane availability updates and investment opportunities.”
Stratos is planning a product introduction at the EAA’s AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 in Wisconsin, USA, next summer.
A video of the first flight can be seen here.
December 6, 2016
