Second SJ30-2 Joins Test Program

[PropAv8or]

More players in the business Aviation Market
Sino Swearingen last week started flying the second conforming version of its SJ30-2 twinjet, a milestone that company president and CEO Dr. Carl Chen described as a continuation of a certification program producing “highly accelerated resultsâ€￾ and a “tremendous step towardâ€￾ FAA certification. “We are also installing air-ground telemetry to help complete FAA flight testing in a substantially shorter time.â€￾ Despite these hints that certification might move forward, the company at press time said it wasn’t ready to reveal a scheduled certification date different from the previously announced fourth quarter of this year. Sino Swearingen senior v-p Gene Comfort said that an update of the certification schedule probably won’t be announced until next month. The new $5.495-million, six-passenger jet has been in development for more than 10 years.

 

[keanuhea]

It's a real nice plane with a unique interior. I like their website but there doesn't seems to be any page announcing how many orders they have.

 

[Barnstormer]

SJ30-2 Distributors File Lawsuit against Sino Swearingen
The SJ30-2’s U.S. and international distributors have filed a lawsuit against Sino Swearingen of San Antonio, Texas, seeking repayment of money they claim to have spent marketing the long-delayed Williams International-powered business jet. The situation grew more contentious late last month when the first conforming prototype SJ30-2 crashed in South Texas, killing Sino Swearingen chief test pilot Carroll Beeler. In a statement, East Coast Jet Center of Stuart, Fla., one of 11 plaintiffs named in the lawsuit, said the company has “spent considerable time and money marketing the SJ30-2â€￾ and “is confident that Sino Swearingen is operating improperlyâ€￾ regarding its distributor program. The lawsuit was filed on February 28 in the 101st District Court in Dallas, five months after Dr. Carl Chen replaced Jack Braly as president and CEO of Sino Swearingen. Chen came to the company with senior vice president Gene Comfort from beleaguered AASI, now renamed Mooney Aerospace Group. In a separate, unrelated lawsuit filed in January, Whiteford Jet Wings of Indiana is seeking nearly $400,000 from Chen, Comfort and Mooney Aerospace Group over a now-defunct distribution agreement related to the canceled AASI Jetcruzer 500 pusher-turboprop. Lawyers and spokesmen on both sides of the lawsuits declined to comment.