Story ID: 
Dubai Debutant: Sino Swearingen SJ30
By: AIN Staff
Caption: UK-based Action Aviation serves as a distributor for the Sino Swearingen SJ30 light business jet–in fact, it is the exclusive worldwide distributor and soo
Word Count: 264
UK-based Action Aviation serves as a distributor for the Sino Swearingen SJ30 light business jet–in fact, it is the exclusive worldwide distributor and soon-to-be majority stakeholder in the manufacturer, if an agreement between the two companies goes through as planned. “Sino Swearingen’s Taiwanese owners and Action Aviation have agreed to the terms of the deal and we expect to complete our due diligence soon,” said Mike Creed, the Dubai-based managing director of Action Aviation.Action Aviation Investment Group has secured enough money to acquire an unspecified majority stake and sufficient cash to ramp up production of the SJ30, of which only two have reached customers since its certification in October 2005. Action holds 159 delivery position “commitments,” of which it has sold 38. Orders total about 300. “We expect to bring the time from sale to delivery down to nine months,” said Creed.The number-two production SJ30, a Dubai Air Show first timer, is on display here. Creed said the company will keep it for use as the factory demonstrator. Flown here by Action Aviation chairman Hamish Harding and Sino Swearingen test pilot Danny Philpot, the jet made the 7,810-nm flight from San Antonio to Dubai in 16 hours, 24 minutes, at an average speed of 476 knots. The journey took 20 hours with fuel stops in Goose Bay, Newfoundland; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Ankara, Turkey. The flight marked a record distance for any aircraft weighing under 20,000 pounds in a 24-hour period.The mtow-13,950-pound SJ30 costs $7 million at list price. Its high-speed cruise takes it to Mach 0.83, its max range to 2,500 nautical miles and its max certified altitude to 49,000 feet.