Waiting for Go-DayJet

While we wait for the big launch this week, let's look a bit more into DayJet's fleet plans.

Jon Udell had a friendly IT Conversations where Ed Iacobucci casually mentions confidential information exchange with other airframe providers.


Meanwhile, Paul Bertorelli of AvWeb had a much more direct interview from NBAA Atlanta with Ed here '
The DayJet leader says both that the company has plans for various size aircraft, and that they have to be able to fly only one passenger and not lose too much money. I think I missed something there.......? And, If the 500's performance is within 5% of plan, why not be "monogamous"?

Can the company which supported Eclipse with approximately 1400 orders/options change horses after the starting gate opens? Will another manufacturer provide such lenient deposit requirements and favorable delivery positions?

“There is a bubble in the market, and there will be a shakeout,” says
Gerald Bernstein, an aviation analyst with the Velocity Group.

Waiting for real news on the October full launch of DayJet? Check Jason Calacanis' Mahalo Dayjet results page. Mahalo is a human editor powered search engine (Less spam results). Mostly Wikipedia and PR news releases, but a good start for DayJeterati. Also, keep an eye on Google News results for DayJet, sorted by date.

Vern Raburn is quoted by AIN Online as saying Flight Into Known Icing certification is slated for "late this year or early next."

Sell the Sizzle

As Elmer Wheeler used to say "Sell the Sizzle, not the Steak!"

WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Pogo Jet Inc. filed with regulators on Thursday to raise up to $103.5 million in an initial public offering of common stock.

Cameron Burr, POGO EVP, had previously said he would follow DayJet's successes and failures before launch. But he'll lead with his chin on Wall Street?

Can a DayJet offering be far behind? Those eight institutions will want some money back soon......

Here's an interview Ed gave to Jon Udell recounting aviation as an OS.


The less sanguine Eclipse Critic calls for a post mortem on the E-500. Nothing like a heady stew of on demand news........

Vapor Lite Jets

Here's a quickie link to AeroTalk.com while I work on my Pogo Jet posting on a Cameron Burr interview.......

THE PROBLEM WITH VLJ'S (Very Light Jets)

Should be called Vapor Lite Jets... most will turn out that way! Entrepreneours wanting to build business jets start by designing a small plane thinking an entry level jet means just what it says. But it is the wrong place to start. Cessna will be the first to admit, the 8,000 lb Mustang was much tougher to engineer than the 10,700 lb CJ1 even thoug both are essentially 6-place airplanes. The fewer pounds to work with, the tougher the task. Both the Eclipse and the Mustang are 6-place airplanes, both have similar systems and back-ups. Both have similar equipment and performance. Can Vern Raburn deliver an airplane 30% lighter than the industry leader, 5,640 lbs vs. 8,000 lbs? Does Vern possess secrets that Cessna has not learned in 60 years of building the lightest possible aircraft? Start-ups need to be realistic about weights! Cabin volumes are nearly the same which brings up another issue of scale. Bleed air requirements for pressurization are nearly the same for both aircraft. Proportionally, it is a bigger load for the two Pratt PW610's on the Eclipse with only 1,800 lbs of thrust vs the PW615's powering the Mustang with 2,700 lbs thrust. While bigger engines produce an abundance of bleed air, small turbines are marginal at best. P&W has a solution for this problem, but it is 4-5 years down the road, too late for the Eclipse.

Amazon, FedEx and DayJet???

Michael Trick had an interesting posting last year regarding DayJet's Operations Research...........

My friend and business partner (in sports scheduling), George Nemhauser, read my post on air taxis and wrote to remind me that Georgia Tech worked with DayJet on the optimization issues that are key to the efficient running of their operation. This led me to an USA Today article by Kevin Maney that I had missed on the subject. The article covers the optimization issues very well:

Tech industry veteran Ed Iacobucci seems an improbable guy to start a new kind of airline. It’s like Donald Trump starting a chain of Laundromats, or Tom Cruise marketing an anti-depression drug.

Pretty jarring, in other words.

Welcome to DayJet Discussions. DayJet is a "per seat, on demand" small jet operator, focusing on the Florida market to start. Let's compare two blogs, focusing on different aspects of this controversial startup from Ed Iacobucci,
Here's Stan Blankenship, an Aeronautical Engineer
Eclipse Critic
with
DayJet junketeer
Josh Hallett, a Florida consultant and blogger, who received a test hop from Lakeland airport in June.
Will the availability of only three seats per aircraft be a deal breaker for potential customers? Will aircraft delivery delays and weight issues of the Eclipse sink DayJet? Well, pull up a barstool, Ridley, it's going to be a fascinating ride!