Epic Aircraft’s twin-engine Elite VLJ flew to Tbilisi, in the Republic of Georgia to begin an Eastern European demonstration tour, but not before setting the bar for other jets. In test flights over Oregon, the sleek, eight-passenger jet consistently logged cruise speeds in excess of 385 KTAS, making it the fastest very light jet in the world, according to the company.
“We’re faster than Phenom 100 and way faster than the Eclipse 500,” CEO Rick Schrameck said of the six-to-eight seat Elite, certification for which is expected in two and a half years. “It’s exciting to see this kind of performance. We always knew we were building the fastest VLJ out there, but now we’ve proved it!”
It remains to be seen if Elite will retain its standing given Honda’s promise for 420-knot, eight-seat HondaJet in two year’s time. The Elite is powered by two Williams Jet FJ-33-4 engines which deliver 3120 pounds of thrust, taking the VLJ to FL410 in less than 17 minutes. Its range at economy cruise is more than 1,600 miles with reserves and 1,330 lbs. of usable payload after fuel. The state-of-the-art cockpit features the all-glass Garmin G900X panels and the Elite will be RVSM compliant.
Epic’s Elite and Victory VLJs made their world debuts at the AirVenture fly-in last summer in Oshkosh, WI. Along with the company’s wildly successful Epic LT turboprop, the new, high-tech all composite jets drove more than $60,000,000 in gross sales from the two shows combined.