Viper Aircraft ViperJet

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The Viper Aircraft ViperJet is a small homebuilt jet aircraft by Viper Aircraft Corporation. It is a conventional, low-wing monoplane with swept wings and tail and two seats in tandem under a bubble canopy. The jet intakes are located at the sides of the fuselage and the tricycle undercarriage is retractable. Construction throughout is of composite materials.[1][2]

Development

Originally conceived to use a piston engine driving a five- or six-blade pusher propeller, brothers Scott and Dan Hanchette commenced work on the prototype, then known as the ViperFan,[3] in February 1996.[4] However, concerns about the difficulty and cost associated with eliminating vibration from the drivetrain led the Hanchettes to choose turbojet propulsion instead, and they installed a Turbomeca Marboré engine in place of the Continental flat-6 they had originally envisaged as a powerplant.[3]

The Viperjet prototype flew late in October 1999.[1] and made its public debut at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2000.[5] The Hanchette brothers, however, were unhappy with both the low power[6] and the high fuel consumption[7] of the Turbomeca engine, and soon swapped it for a General Electric T58 turboshaft engine with the power turbine removed,[7] turning it into a turbojet. While this worked, it still did not produce as much thrust as the Hanchettes hoped for, and eventually, they selected the General Electric J85.[7] With this engine producing around four times the thrust of the previous powerplants tested in the Viper, the Hanchettes substantially redesigned the aircraft, dubbing the J85-powered version the MKII.[7] The prototype was dismantled and rebuilt, with parts of the canopy and fuselage center section all that remained of the original design.[7] The slightly larger MKII also features a pressurized cabin,[8] nearly three times the fuel tankage,[9] stronger undercarriage,[9] and optional tip tanks.[9] The MKII prototype flew on 12 June 2005 and Viper Aircraft offered replacement MKII parts to all customers who had purchased kits of the original version,[7] now dubbed the MKI.

In 2006, the base MKII kit cost US$182,000, but since builders can purchase additional components already pre-made by Viper Aircraft, customers spent an average of $350,000 on their kits.[6] They would then have to spend approximately another $300,000[6] and around 3,000 to 3,500 hours to complete the aircraft.[4] The company also offers customers a builder assistance program to help them assemble the major airframe components and a training program to help them learn to fly their ViperJet once it is complete. Zero Gravity Builders provides builder assistance for the ViperJet MKII, ViperJet LXR and Viper FanJet.[10] Viper Aircraft had sold 21 kits by September 2006.[4]

In 2008, Viper Aircraft announced an enlarged, turbofan-powered follow-on design as the Viper Aircraft FanJet. The company has also proposed a military trainer version of the ViperJet, as well as a UAV version.[11]

Operational history

By April 2020 seven examples had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.[12]

Specifications (MKII, preliminary specifications)

Data from White 2006, p.13

General characteristics

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See also

Related lists

References

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ViperJet kit aircraft makes maiden flight", Flight international, Flight global, 10 November 1999, The composite ViperJet….
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bayerl, Robby; Berkemeier, Martin; et al. (2011–2012), World Directory of Leisure Aviation, Lancaster, UK: WDLA, p. 126, ISSN 1368-485X
  3. ^ a b Freeze 2005, p. 10C
  4. ^ a b c Saywers 2006, p. 14
  5. ^ Hitchman 2000, p. 44.
  6. ^ a b c Saywers 2006, p. 1
  7. ^ a b c d e f Freeze 2005, p.11C
  8. ^ Joshi 2007, p. B6
  9. ^ a b c White 2006, p. 11.
  10. ^ White 2006, p. 12
  11. ^ White 2006, p. 13
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Federal Aviation Administration (27 October 2012). "Make / Model Inquiry Results". Retrieved 8 April 2020.[dead link]

Bibliography

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Page Template:Sister-inline/styles.css has no content.Script error: No such module "Sister project logo". Media related to Script error: No such module "Commons link". at Wikimedia Commons

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