Spectrum Aeronautical is a

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pu ...

developer based in Carlsbad, California with its development center located in

Spanish Fork, Utah Spanish Fork is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo– Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The 2020 census reported a population of 42,602. Spanish Fork, Utah is the 20th largest city in Utah based on officia ...

. An engine failure while flying a single-engine

Stinson Voyager The Stinson Voyager was a 1940s American light utility monoplane built by the Stinson Aircraft Company. Development First developed as the Stinson HW-75 and marketed as the Model 105 in 1939, the design was a high-wing three-seat braced monopla ...

over the jungles of Honduras in 1958 nearly killed Spectrum CEO Linden Blue. After this incident he started to design aircraft that had multiple engines. Since approximately 2006, the company has been involved in the development of two

very light jet A very light jet (VLJ), entry-level jet or personal jet, previously known as a microjet, is a category of small business jets seating four to eight people. VLJs are considered the lightest business jets and are approved for single-pilot operati ...

s, the Spectrum S-33 "Independence" and the S-40 "Freedom", which are to be constructed making extensive use of

composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

s. The twin-engined single pilot aircraft are supposed to carry between five and nine passengers over distances between circa 3000 and 4000 kilometres, using about 40% less fuel than conventionally built planes. The certification dates of both planes have been postponed on several occasions, even more so after a setback in 2006, when the company's only prototype - a S-33 - crashed, causing the death of two pilots. Further to that, the Global Financial Crash 2008 made the business climate for business jets more restrictive. The S-33, with an envisaged selling price of just under US-$ 4m, is scheduled to be certified 12 months after the S-40, which is to sell for below US-$ 7m. In recent years Spectrum has sought finance through banks, investors and joint ventures with other aircraft manufacturers. In May 2011 Spectrum president Austin Blue is quoted: "We are still trying to get the programmes advancing, but it is not easy".

Advertised claims

Spectrum has taken part in the development of composite aircraft which includes the

MQ-1 Predator The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ...

, LearAvia Lear Fan,

Beechcraft Starship The Beechcraft Starship is a twin-turboprop six- to eight-passenger pressurized business aircraft produced by Beech Aircraft Corporation. Development Development of the Starship began in 1979 when Beech decided to explore designs for a succe ...

Scaled Composites Proteus The Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-altitude long-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high-altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is a multi-mission vehicle able to ...

Bell Eagle Eye The Bell Helicopter Eagle Eye, Model 918, was an American tiltrotor unmanned aerial vehicle that was offered as one of the competitors in the United States Navy's VT-UAV (Vertical Takeoff - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) program. Development The Eagl ...

and

Williams V-Jet II The Williams V-Jet II was designed and built by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites for Williams International as a test bed and demonstrator aircraft for Williams' new FJX-1 turbofan engine. Development Williams International had been building sma ...

. It gained experience in advanced aerodynamic design, manufacturing process controls, financial management, FAA certification, interior design, marketing, computer based design, quality assurance, distribution and maintenance systems. During these aforementioned projects. .

Products

The company is developing two jets: *

Spectrum S-40 Freedom The Spectrum S-40 Freedom was a business jet developed by Spectrum Aeronautical. The aircraft was first announced at the 2006 NBAA Conference in Orlando, Florida. Design and development The S-40 is expected to be classified as a very light jet, ...

Spectrum S-33 Independence The Spectrum S-33 Independence is a very light jet designed and built by Spectrum Aeronautical using a carbon fiber construction process that makes the airplane weigh about two thirds as much as a comparably sized aluminum-frame airplane. The a ...

References

{{reflist Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Spanish Fork, Utah Carlsbad, California