Flight International — 22 August — 4 September 2017

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flightglobal.com 22 August-4 September 2017 | Flight International | 5


and Piper Altaire – to market. However, the global fi-
nancial implosion intervened. But while most of the
ambitious programmes ended up on the scrapheap, the
Vision Jet survived.
The acquisition of Cirrus by China’s CAIGA in 2011
was key to its continuation, giving the programme new
momentum and boosting buyer confidence.
Much of the backlog comprises SR22 owners trading
up to jet power. But given the unique position of the
Vision Jet, it is likely to pull in pilots of other types.
In a sector where bigger is always seen as better, it is
striking that a rare bright spot is provided by one of the
smallest aircraft. ■

W


hen Cirrus handed over the first SF50 Vision Jet
to its proud owner last December, its relief was
palpable.
The milestone ended a 10-year quest by the airframer


  • manufacturer of the popular SR-series piston-single –
    to create the world’s first certificated, single-engined per-
    sonal jet. It thought the aircraft would create a new era of
    affordable aviation.
    While Cirrus hoped to be first to market when it
    launched its jet in 2006, it certainly did not expect to
    have the segment all to itself.
    Back in the mid-2000s, when sales of business air-
    craft were booming, a clutch of companies were racing
    to bring their personal jets – such as the Diamond D-Jet See Flight Test P


Bet on a jet


Still looking

The suspended search for missing flight MH370 could be revived, if satellite images taken
shortly after its loss really hold compelling clues – but could hearts be at risk of ruling heads?

worthwhile, exercise, and pouring resources into a
venture based on guesswork and optimism alone.
The latest technical analysis from the investigation,
released just a few days after Voice370 expressed its
frustration, illustrates the point.
Images from Airbus’s Pleiades-1A satellite, taken 15
days after MH370 vanished en route to Beijing, might
indicate the presence of aircraft debris which, com-
bined with extensive drift modelling, has enabled in-
vestigators to submit the boldest of claims – a strong
contender for the impact point, saying, in essence, that
“X” marks the spot.
Search teams have yet to decide whether this evi-
dence is sufficient to tilt the balance in favour of re-
launching the ships. Because such a decision cannot be
taken on a whim, regardless of pressure from those
with emotional investment.
Oceanic exploration is hazardous, and the risks in-
volved – as some of those drawn to Oak Island’s money
pit discovered – are not limited to the financial. ■

F


or two centuries a small island off the coast of Nova
Scotia has lured treasure-seekers, convinced that a
fortune is buried in a deep hollow within its shores.
The legend of the Oak Island money pit has proven
irresistible to explorers, convinced by tentative evi-
dence that something of extraordinary value lies below
its soil, undeterred by the fruitless – and costly –
searches of their predecessors.
The team hunting for the lost Malaysia Airlines
flight MH370 knows, at least, that the aircraft’s wreck-
age exists. But that does not invalidate the lesson that
accurate intelligence is everything.
Oak Island covers an area of barely half a square kilo-
metre. The primary search area for MH370, scoured for
more than two years, was nearly a quarter of a million
times larger. The scale of the numbers underscores the
crucial need for reliable information.

Suspension of the search earlier this year brought
understandable – if misplaced – condemnation from
representatives of those lost when MH370 disappeared
in March 2014. The Voice370 group recently ques-
tioned the Malaysian government’s commitment to the
search, asking why, despite no lack of funds, it had ap-
parently not acted on an offer by US specialists to re-
vive the hunt for MH370, on the basis of a fee contin-
gent upon success.
But this is an unreasonable interpretation. There is a
vast difference between funding an expensive, but See This Week P

Hopes inflated

Mohd Daud/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Search teams have yet to decide


whether this evidence is sufficient


to merit relaunching the ships


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