Touring Mock Ups

Grob and Diamond are in the middle of nationwide tours touting their spn and Diamond Jet, respectively. The D-Jet mock up was in South Florida at West Palm this week displaying at the Barrett Jackson Car Auction and this week heads to Fort Lauderdale at Premier Aircraft Sales, a Diamond dealer. It will also display at Premier’s Orlando facility. Also on the tour is Sun ‘n’ Fun in Lakeland, Fla. beginning April 8, the EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh in July, NBAA in Orlando in October and the AOPA Expo in San Jose, CA, in November.
The spn is now undergoing intensive flight testing in Granada, Spain, with certification anticipated before year end. Meanwhile, the spn mock-up traveled to more than 23 cities in a journey that began last November, resulting in several sales and generating interest among hundreds of pilots and executives who have viewed the world’s first all-composite business jet. Hundreds more will have a chance to tour the mock-up as it continues to more than 30 destinations between now and the NBAA Convention in Orlando in October.
“It is eye opening for them,” commented Grob Aerospace Western US Sales Director, Josh Kovac. “They are surprised at the generous cabin size and the capability of the aircraft. We are seeing a lot of interest from operators of King Air’s, Citation Jets and PC-12s. Turboprop operators tell us this is the first jet that gives them the space, short field capability and operating economics of a turboprop, but with jet speed and more comfort. Light jet pilots tell us they just get more of everything, while retaining excellent economics.”
Kovac noted that the spn has the largest cabin in the light jet class and the highest useful payload. It also offers features common on larger jets, but not found on light jets, such as an optional auxiliary power unit (APU). The Honeywell Primus Apex avionics system is also more typical of larger jets and has proven to be an important selling point for pilots.
The spn can operate from runways as short as 3,000 feet and will be able to use grass or unimproved runways. Range is 1,800 nm while carrying six passengers and one crew, since it is certified as a single pilot aircraft. Passengers can chose from six- or eight-person individual seating configurations with either configuration including a private lavatory. Porsche Design Studio is designing the interiors.
The mock up tour made its way up the California coast, and is currently heading inland for the Rockies, Plains States, Mid-West, Northeast, Eastern Canada, Oshkosh, Western Canada, Pacific Northwest, and NBAA. The objective is to make the aircraft and its manufacturer better known to U.S. pilots and traveling executives.
In business for 37 years, Grob Aerospace, headquartered in Switzerland, has long experience with composite manufacturing and has delivered more than 3,500 aircraft that have flown over seven million hours on five continents.