This is the third and final part of a series on the definition of the Very Light Jet, or VLJ. Part I reported on the engine manufacturer’s view of the VLJ market while Part II covered airframers. This week, Aviation Today’s VLJ Report reports on an operator – DayJet, of course.
Define the VLJ market, we asked. Is it an aircraft? Is it a mission? Is it the number of passengers or the acquisition costs? Is it a matter of stand-up headroom or aircraft weight? Like beauty, a VLJ is clearly in the eye of the beholder or the salesperson, as the case may be.
Perhaps what makes us so excited about this new type of aircraft is the fact there is no one clear definition but a promise of something new. They are, after all, expanding the market and attracting new owner-operators who are joining aviation’s ranks for the first time. Similarly, it could be the fact they are ushering in a new transportation paradigm, one that combines the scale of an airline with the efficiencies of private transportation. GAO Inspector General Gerald Dillingham cited FAA estimates in recent testimony. "FAA estimates that if two percent of airline passengers switch to VLJs, air traffic controllers will have to handle three times more take-offs and landings.” Even so, to get to that point will take a great deal of time.

DayJet’s Iacobucci
Tucked away in a small corner of the Eclipse booth at the National Business Aircraft Association convention, Ed Iacabucci charismatically spread his enthusiasm for his new brand of carrier, summing it up in two sentences. “Getting the flights is the easy part,” he said. “How you manage the per-seat and aggregate the individual reservations for multiple people using one aircraft is the trick.”
DayJet combines the best of two worlds – the regional airline industry and air taxi services. Indeed, some of his employees come out of the regional industry, something being copied by other on-demand operations. Related Story
In a small departure from original estimates that VLJs and on-demand, per-seat services would have no impact on scheduled carriers, Iacobucci indicated such services would actually increase scheduled traffic as passengers try to capture the out-and-back-in-one-day business trip while keeping such trips economical. To do that, they will combine air taxi and scheduled carrier use, he predicted, in order to ensure they are home by dinner.
“People long ago gave up on flying,” he said. “Once people get back in the air their desire is to recapture same-day travel. They begin taking a look at the flying part of their trip on scheduled airlines and the other, on-demand operation. Our passengers come from driving or the train, which is an option in Florida. We are not the cheapest option and price does matter. But, we are meeting an unmet need.”
His enthusiasm comes from the reaction of the marketplace which has already seen 1,500 clients sign with DayJet. “I’ve been in a lot of tech startups but the reaction to this leaves them in the dust,” he said, pointing to the coverage from CNN, CNBC, and more traditional broadcast outlets such as ABC News as well as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times. “I have never seen so much interest as I have from this operation. Those [television outlets] reach 20 million households. We had 50,000 visitors to our website in August. It is totally unexpected. I really believe we’ve demonstrated the viability of the next generation transportation service in local markets and it will evolve as it goes along.”
His model is to deploy his aircraft on a regional basis capitalizing on providing precision navigational approaches to small communities. Indeed, he goes back to the old airline model of linking communities of interest, rather than the current transport models of the scheduled airlines. He swore he would never get into the scheduled airline business, despite the advent of commercial regulations for VLJ aircraft. Related Story
“We proved the concept and are part of the solution to a problem,” he said. “We won’t be flying in Class B airspace because we are taking advantage of the NextGen technology and already fly our own routes. There is a lot of air out there and there are ways we can help use it more efficiently.”
While he called the Eclipse 500 more transformative than revolutionary, Iacobucci said the real revolution comes with systems automation. “The traditional systems helped you track what you did, not what you’re going to do,” he said. “I’m not your typical NBAA customer. I’m more aligned with the customers of regional airlines. We are not a travel option for CEOs but mid-level managers who travel. We are utilitarian and fit into a different niche. The bottom line is a quantifiable productivity gain which is hard to do if you are chartering a Gulfstream.”
Even so, he is attracting CEOs of small companies along with his target audience of legal professionals, architects, real estate developers, engineers, construction, restaurant chain executives, public utility companies, lobbyists and politicians.
“There are a lot of negatives about small aircraft and paying $600 to $700 to go one way,” he said. “But it sure beats the alternative – seven hours of windshield time – and includes as much pitch and room as a typical coach seat. We may not have the performance of a 737 but we have the performance to get out of the way of the weather which pistons and others have to slog through. So, we can avoid turbulence, climb high, redirect and divert so turbulence is not really a problem. Why enter into the hub-to-hub fray to compete with a $79 fare when you have the systems and capability to get 10 times the yield, solve a problem and co-exist peacefully in the airspace. We don’t have to wait until 2025. We are using new technology now to develop RNP routes. We are working with ATC to do our own routing.”

Sidebar
NBAA’s Opinion
Since we were, after all, attending the NBAA convention, we thought we’d pulse the organization to see what it had to say about very light jets. Indeed, the web site web.nbaa.org/public/ops/vlj/ has a brilliant presentation of the conventional wisdom.

What is a very light jet?
Under-10,000 pound, four-to-seven passenger jets certified for single-pilot operations as opposed to large jets – over 12,500 pounds or light jets. VLJs can include advanced cockpit automation such as moving map GPS and multi-function displays; automated engine and systems management; and integrated autoflight, autopilot and flight-guidance systems.

So, what’s the big deal about VLJs?
Performance is generally the answer – able to operate from 3,000-foot runways, with some 5,000 general aviation airports in the U.S. brought into more efficient use with the advent of the new aircraft. Their advanced avionics afford increased safety margins as well as airspace efficiency with the use of satellite-based equipment allowing them to operate in more hostile environments such as airports without guidance equipment.
Advanced engines are also a hallmark of VLJs, offering game changing economics just as new, smaller, more efficient engines ushered in the era of regional jets more than a decade ago. In addition they are more environmentally friendly than past-generation engines meeting both noise and emissions standards commercial airline have yet to meet. Finally, their integrated systems reduce pilot workload and simplify operations.
Indeed, the NBAA web site cites an article in Diamond Aircraft News, quoting Canada’s National Research Council for Aerospace Chief Test Pilot John Aitken as saying, “The fact that [the VLJ] has relatively simple systems is a plus which will reduce training time required to establish and maintain currency on type. Engine operation is simpler than a turboprop or piston engine with a constant speed prop so the fact that it is a ‘jet’ is really a plus.”
This simplification addresses two of the greatest concerns about VLJs – training and high-performance. To that end manufacturers have created sophisticated training programs for pilots transitioning from low-performance equipment that focus on making them ready to fly a high-performance jet.
Finally, the economics of the aircraft sets it apart. Engines are lower priced making jets available for under $1 million to several million dollars opening up a completely new market for jets. In addition to acquisition costs, operating costs have dropped dramatically with the technology, decreasing fuel burn.

Market Size
NBAA said on its site that latest industry projections for 2007 show VLJ deliveries have been cut by 50 percent. It is now forecast that only 125 VLJs will be delivered in 2007 – the initial industry forecast put that number at about 200. The 2007 FAA forecast was for 350 VLJ deliveries in 2007.
“FAA officials told us that they do not expect very light jets to significantly affect capacity in the next five to six years because of the incremental integration of very light jets into the airspace,” said the General Accountability Office in a report. Related Story
“Most experts believed that very light jets would have little effect on safety, owing to FAA’s certification processes and procedures for aircraft, pilots, and maintenance.” GAO added.
NBAA cited 2006 testimony by Nicholas Sabatini, FAA associate administrator for aviation safety, who stated, “[VLJs] will be assimilated into the system in an orderly fashion. We won’t have 5,000 airplanes waiting to be launched overnight. So it’s going to be a very well controlled and managed process to allow the introduction of these aircraft.”
In addition, VLJs will typically operate at altitudes below or above those at which commercial airliners operate. For the most part, VLJs will be used for flights that are less than 600 miles in length. On those flights, VLJs will most likely operate at altitudes below most commercial airline traffic.
NBAA officials are not aware of any operator that plans to regularly fly VLJs into congested airports, thus mitigating the concern they will cause more delays than the airlines and FAA have already inflicted on themselves. Current FAA statistics show general aviation accounts for less than four percent of traffic at the nation’s 10 busiest airports.
In its report, NBAA also cited training standards developed or under development by manufacturers with partnerships including long-established and highly respected flight training organizations. In addition, the organization worked with the FAA, aviation insurance companies and other aviation safety experts to develop NBAA’s VLJ Training Guidelines for owners and operators to prepare pilots for the unique challenges of operating a VLJ or other technically advanced aircraft. The guidelines advocate for mentor pilot programs – matching experienced pilots with VLJ owner/operators, some of which have been established by manufacturers. Mentor pilots will fly with the owner/operator until the mentor makes the decision that the owner/operator can operate the aircraft safely. In addition, many aviation insurance companies require that VLJ owner/operators establish a mentor pilot relationship.