Start-up Flaris Unveils $1.5M VLJ at Paris Air Show

Podgórzyn, Poland-based aspiring aircraft manufacturer Flaris unveiled the prototype of its heretofore unannounced five-place, single-engine very light jet–dubbed the LAR 01–at the Paris Air Show this week. The aircraft has already completed low-speed taxi tests and, following the show, will start high-speed ground testing before flying by year-end, Flaris sales manager Anthony Krol told AIN. The developers expect EASA and FAA Part 23 certification in late 2015.

The $1.5 million (2013 $), all-composite jet sports a nose-mounted ballistic parachute; wide rear-hinged pilot and copilot doors; detachable wings and horizontal stabilizers, for easier storage; a fuselage-mounted fuel tank, since no fuel can be in the detachable wings; and electric de-ice system. Krol said the prototype is fitted with a Fadec-controlled, 1,460-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F, but Flaris is also considering the PW615, as well as engines from Williams International and Price Induction. He said the avionics will be a dual Garmin G600 system.

Target performance specifications include 820-foot takeoff distance from a grass field, 380-knot max cruise speed, 62-knot stall speed, 45,000-foot ceiling and 1,400-nm range. Empty weight is planned to be 1,543 pounds, while mtow is projected to be 3,300 pounds.

Flaris’s parent company–Metal-Master, which makes assembly tooling for truck manufacturers–is self-funding the project with cash flow.