Stratos Aircraft (Booth C11305, Indoor Static 1) said it hopes to fly its full flight envelope by year-end and start construction of a second test aircraft next year. The Bend, Oregon-based company brought its lone prototype Model 714 single-engine jet to NBAA 2017. CEO Michael Lemaire said the company remains in the hunt for an investment partner to help fund the aircraft's full certification and production development program, estimated to cost up to $200 million. Target price for the production aircraft is $3.5 million.
To date, the aircraft has achieved an altitude of 18,000 feet and speeds up to 330 ktas. Stratos hopes to fly the 714 to 41,000 feet and speeds up to 400 knots by year-end with the aircraft partially pressurized and the pilot on oxygen. Stratos first flew the 714 last November.
Ninety percent of the aircraft, including the trailing link landing gear that was fit-prototyped using 3D printing, was fabricated by Stratos at its quick-prototyping facility in Bend. While the test aircraft is fitted with an older-generation Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5 engine at present, plans now call for the production aircraft to carry the newer P&WC 535E engine, the same powerplant on the Embraer Phenom 300. The five-seat 714 is designed to transport four 200-pound passengers 1,500 nm at Mach 0.7.