Demand for new business jets, and VLJs in particular, is strong and growing, according to speakers at an AOPA Expo forum earlier this month.
One speaker listed 22 new jets in development – not all of them VLJs, however – and seven more that have been certified recently.
The panel was in agreement that the public must learn that a VLJ at a small airport is not a precursor to 747s landing there.
The ultimate measure of VLJ acceptance will be safety — not necessarily the actual safety record, but the perception of safety, which is not necessarily the same thing, one speaker stated.
As with the Bonanza 60 years ago, light jets are introducing a new dimension of performance and, as with the Bonanza, “the best safety device in the cockpit is a well-trained pilot,” another speaker said.