The Adam A700 made its first flight on this day in aviation history.
The Adam A700 was a six-seat business jet with a carbon fibre composite materials with the monocoque consisting of honeycomb-stiffened skins, developed by Adam Aircraft Industries in early 2003. Development of the aircraft ran parallel to the similar Adam A500, which was piston-powered. The avionics suite was from Avidyne Entegra and consisted of a glass cockpit, AHRS (Attitude Heading Reference System), 3 axis autopilot with yaw damper and Flight Management System. The Adam A700 was powered by two FADEC controlled Williams FJ33 Turbofans, rated at 1350 lbs thrust. Commonality between the A500 and A700 was great, around 80%.
Compared to the A500 the forward fuselage of the A700 was extended by 4 feet (1.2 meters) to balance the rear-mounted engines. (The Adam A500 was designed in a push-pull engine configuration where engine weights were balancing out each other)
Two A700's prototypes were built, the first prototype made the types first flight on this day in 2003.
Adam A700 Adam A500
In February 2008 Adam Aircraft filed for Bankruptcy, prior to aircraft certification being complete. Although the company was bought and work on the Adam A700 restarted in May 2008, by October 2008 development and test flying was suspended and the company announced that a new schedule for certification of the A700 would be published after the financial situation and market conditions. In April 2009 Adam Aircraft closed down and fired all its staff, effectively ending the project.
General characteristics
Crew: one or two pilots
Capacity: four to six passengers, depending on cabin configuration
Length: 40 ft 9 in (12.42 m)
Wingspan: 44 ft 0 in (13.41 m)
Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
Empty weight: 5,550 lb (2,517 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 9,350 lb (4,241 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Williams FJ33-4A turbofan engine, 1,350 lbf (6.0 kN) thrust each
Maximum speed: 382 mph (615 km/h, 332 kn)
Stall speed: 73 mph (117 km/h, 63 kn)
Range: 1,611 mi (2,593 km, 1,400 nmi)
Service ceiling: 41,000 ft (12,000 m)
Rate of climb: 2,550 ft/min (13.0 m/s)
Avionics
Avidyne Entegra (Glass Cockpit)