Viper Aircraft ViperJet

Viper Jet MKII
Viperjet
Role Sport aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Viper Aircraft
Designer Scott Hanchette
First flight October 1999




The Viper Jet 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[10] 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[11] provides builder assistance for the ViperJet MKII, ViperJet LXR and Viper FanJet.[12] 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.[13]

Operational history

By October 2012 five examples had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.[14]

Specifications (MKII, preliminary specifications)

Dan Hanchette and his brother Scott Hanchette with a Viper Jet MKII

Data from White 2006, p.13

General characteristics

Performance

See also



References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "ViperJet kit aircraft makes maiden flight", Flight international (Flight global), 10 Nov 1999, The composite ViperJet….
  2. ↑ Bayerl, Robby; Berkemeier, Martin et al. (2011), World Directory of Leisure Aviation, Lancaster, UK: WDLA, p. 126, ISSN 1368-485X
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Freeze 2005, p. 10C
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Saywers 2006, p. 14
  5. ↑ Hitchman 2000, p. 44.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Saywers 2006, p. 1
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Freeze 2005, p.11C
  8. ↑ Joshi 2007, p. B6
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 White 2006, p. 11.
  10. ↑ Viper 2005.
  11. ↑ Zero Gravity Builders Studio LLC.
  12. ↑ White 2006, p. 12
  13. ↑ White 2006, p. 13
  14. ↑ Federal Aviation Administration (27 October 2012). "Make / Model Inquiry Results". Retrieved 27 October 2012.

Bibliography

  • "Debut of the Viperjet MKII – the Next Generation" (PDF) (Press release). Viper Aircraft. 16 June 2005. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  • Freeze, Di (November 2005). "The Path to the Viperjet MkII – The Trickest Jet on the Block". Pacific Northwest Aviation & Business Journal (Airport Journals) 4 (10): 8C–14C.
  • Hitchman, Nigel (5–11 September 2000). "Travelling Light". Flight International: 44–46. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  • Joshi, Pratik (21 October 2007). "The right brothers". Tri-City Herald. pp. B5–B6.
  • Saywers, Karisa (September 2006). "Local kit plane company provides opportunity for aircraft ownership". Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business 5 (9): 1, 14.
  • "ViperJet kit aircraft makes maiden flight" (PDF). Flight International: 32. 10–16 November 1999. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  • White, Diane (February 2006). "The ViperJet MKII". Twin & Turbine: 8–13.

External links