Stratos stretches new jet

The Stratos 714 proof-of-concept aircraft has logged 185 hours over 130 test flights, the company reported, and feedback from potential customers prompted a redesign to extend the cabin by 31 inches in length, and 3.5 inches in width. The 714 flew a demonstration at EAA AirVenture in 2017, and turned a few heads, according to Fred Hadlich, program director for the Stratos 716.

“They liked it but said, ‘The performance is great, but I wish it was just a little bit bigger.’ Basically, we went through our feedback from last year’s Oshkosh and we’ve decided to make a larger version of the [714] aircraft," Hadlich  said. "It will have 6-passenger club- or standard-seating."

The 714 was designed to carry four people on 1,600-nautical-mile legs at 400 knots, with the ability to climb to 41,000 feet.

Hadlich said the stretched 716 version will first reach the market in kit form, the Stratos 716X, with a robust builder-assist program. Hadlich expects most owners will operate their own jets, and Stratos hopes to entice current owners of “high-performance six-to eight-place turboprops, like an Epic, a King Air, or a Meridian. The the TBM guys seem to have a lot of interest in our aircraft, too.”

Potential owners will need to get their hands dirty and spend some time at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Oregon, which includes a 41,000-square-foot production and manufacturing facility. “It’s probably going to be 2,500 man-hours, or about six months of serious commitment,” Hadlich said.

He added that the company’s goal was “to bring the 716X to Oshkosh next year.”

The company plans to eventually produce a factory-built, certified version of the 716, and believes that creating a fleet of experimental kit aircraft to start with will support that effort, as well as allowing select customers to get their own jet in the air years ahead of the rest.