The A700 AdamJet made its inaugural flight in July 2003 and joined an increasingly crowded field of manufacturers in the light-light jet category. Adam says that the A700 AdamJet "is to date the only flying aircraft in the next-generation jet category," yet the flying example is far from a production prototype. Put it another way -- Adam Aircraft has built at least three copies of its A500 push-me/pull-you piston twin, with two flying in regular certification tests. The A500 prototypes have accumulated around 500 hours, but the type isn't certificated yet. The A700 has accumulated over 150 hours of flight time, according to the company, yet FAA certification and first delivery of the A700 is planned for the first quarter of 2005. This is in sharp contrast to the certification and delivery schedules put forth by competitors Cessna -- which has the art of bringing new aircraft types to certification on-schedule down to a well-defined science -- and Eclipse, to name but two. The punch line? Don't hold your breath waiting for iFly to begin operations with the A700 AdamJet by early next year.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/but-devils-details-waiting-in-the-wings