Everyone likes a comeback story, and SyberJet Aircraft’s new unofficial transcontinental speed record fits the bill in more ways than one. SyberJet claims its SJ30-2 flew from Jacksonville to San Diego in four hours and seven minutes on August 21, averaging 505.3 mph, which would break the 13-year-old, official light jet transcontinental speed mark should it stand (certification comes from the National Aeronautic Association and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, taking roughly 90 days). If the SJ30-2 is not exactly familiar to you, you’re not alone. While certified, there are only about ten airframes in existence, and it is the product of a program that most of the industry wrote off years ago.
Regardless, the record is worthy of note. While flying against the prevailing westerlies on the east-to-west leg, the SJ30-2 beat the Embraer Phenom 300’s 2013 mark of 339.4 mph by nearly 49 percent. The old record did include a fuel stop in El Paso, but in the real world, range typically trumps speed within identical cabin classes.
The speed record, set by an out-of-production, unavailable aircraft is just a small piece of Syberjet’s much larger story. It began in 1959 with the founding of Swearingen Aircraft by famed Texas engineer Ed Swearingen in 1959, which was responsible for the Merlin and Metro turboprops. That entity was acquired by Fairchild Industries in 1972, which continued production of the Metro as the rebranded Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner.
In 1982, Swearingen then bought the name and business back from Fairchild. In 1995, the entity received a cash infusion from a Taiwan-backed investor group and was renamed Sino Swearingen with the mission to certify the SJ30. The type’s first prototype had flown back in 1991; a fatal accident during flight testing limited progress, and it took another 14 years before the FAA certified the SJ30-2 in October 2005. Approximately seven airframes were manufactured, with AOPA calling it “the first new American corporate jet manufactured and designed from scratch in 45 years.”…