28 July 2021
There’s a rival for the Cirrus Vision Jet – the Stratos 716X is making its debut at Oshkosh.
Like the Cirrus, the Stratos has a single turbofan engine and will go on sale on 2022 as an Experimental class kitplane. Stratos intends to offer a factory-built certified version in the future.
The six-seat Stratos 716X is claimed to have a cruise speed of 0.7 Mach/402kt and will cruise at 41,000 ft.
Carsten Sundin, Stratos Aircraft President and Chief Technology Officer, said, “People want the high-altitude speed, quiet and smoothness of a jet. But, up until now, many of them have been priced out of the top end of the market.
“They’ve had to settle for prop airplanes that typically fly 10,000 to 15,000 feet lower and 100 to 150 knots slower than modern jets. At Stratos, our goal is to lower the cost of owning and operating a jet to turboprop levels.”
Stratos says the experimental 716X is a steppingstone to the Stratos certified 716. It conforms to the same aerodynamics and is built to the same standards as the certified model.
Cut-out showing seating in the Stratos 716X
Starting in 2022, Stratos will offer 10 – 12 716X kits that will help the firm refine its manufacturing processes and assembly line efficiencies needed for high-rate production of certified aircraft in the future.
The $2.5 million 716X will offer 95% of the performance of the 716, but cost $1m less. The 716X comes complete with a freshly overhauled, 3,600-hour TBO PWC JT15D5 turbofan and a full suite of Garmin 3X avionics. It can be ready to fly in as little as 9 months, using Stratos’ builder-assist affiliate firms.
Stratos is exhibiting its original 714 proof-of-concept aircraft and its new 716X kit-built aircraft at its ‘Soar into the Stratos Sphere display at Oshkosh.
