Production of the Vantage executive jet once again has been delayed at an Ames-based plant. VisionAire Corporation’s Ames plant, the only jet-aircraft assembly factory in Iowa, has delayed its project involving the “six-place, all-composite single-fan private jets” for the same reasons it was pushed back two years ago, said Mark Jones, a member of the VisionAire management team. “In late 1998, as part of flight-testing development work, it turned up that the airplane was not doing precisely what we wanted it to do,” Jones said. At that time, the company decided to re-evaluate the plans for the Vantage jet and perform technical corrections before proceeding with the jet’s construction. “During the design development and test, one area showed that the handling characteristics were not as sharp as we wanted,” Jones said. “When a plane lands, the nose is raised so the wings hit the air at an angle that basically makes the plane quit flying. The idea is to stall the engine at the time the wheels hit the runway.” The tests run on the Vantage found that one wing would drop during landing. Although this is allowable to a degree, VisionAire personnel felt that the extent of the drop was beyond acceptable limits, Jones said. A steady increase in the projected weight of the airplane also was detected, a situation that would limit the amount of fuel and human cargo the plane could hold, he said. “We could address either problem alone, but we really only get one chance to design the airplane right the first time,” Jones said. Based on this information, the company decided it needed more time to work in order to address both the handling characteristics and the weight of the plane at the same time. While VisionAire’s large-production Ames plant is currently being subleased to a storage company until the plans for the Vantage are finalized, Jones predicted that the smaller flight-test facility in Ames will be in use within a year to 14 months. Work on the Vantage currently is being done in Mojave, Calif. Four additional test articles built in Montrose, Colo., eventually will be shipped to Ames for testing, Jones said. He said the Ames plant will receive the first test planes in mid to late 2001, and that certification will be complete in late 2002 or early 2003. “We have more than the first year’s production already on order,” Jones said. He added that delays are “not uncommon in airplane development.” Despite the delays on the project, Jones said he is confident in the eventual success of the program. “It’s an exciting project,” he said. “I’ve never seen a concept with this much potential.” Jones said the Vantage jet is about the size of a minivan – much smaller than the common commercial airliner. The plane will reach speeds of 400 miles per hour, and it is intended to interest smaller companies with $5 million to $500 million in annual revenue that previously were blocked out of the private-jet market because of cost. “Most planes of this type run about $4 million, but the Vantage will sell for just over $2 million,” Jones said. The Vantage will be made out of graphite epoxy composite materials to prevent corrosion of the parts. Scaled Technology Works provides composite parts for the project, said Paul Oppenheim, business development manager for the company. “The main advantage over metal is the weight savings, and the life-cycle costs are also shown to be lower,” Oppenheim said. VisionAire chose to establish a plant in Ames after considering several communities around the country. Jones said Ames had the resources and work force necessary for the plant to operate, as well as a supportive attitude.