The Stratos 714 is an American very light jet aircraft under development by Stratos Aircraft of Redmond, Oregon. The project was announced in July 2008, a prototype first flew on 21 November 2016, although Stratos currently lacks the funding to complete type certification. Predominantly made of carbon composite, the single turbofan aircraft would seat four to six at 400 kn (740 km/h) over up to 1,500 nmi (2,800 km). Chief technology officer Carsten Sundin launched the VLJ project with CEO Michael Lemaire, aiming for higher speed and range than competitors. Sundin joined Lancair in 1993 after graduating and became engineering manager on the 240 kn (440 km/h) Lancair Legacy 2000. In 2003 he joined Epic Aircraft to become engineering manager on its new single turboprop and met the aerodynamicist of the Farnborough F1, Gordon Robinson. Farnborough Aircraft and Epic formed a joint venture to develop the smaller kit Epic LT along the FAR-23 certificated F1, sharing their wing, engine and tail, and Sundin Left Epic in 2005. The project was unveiled on 16 July 2008, touted as an owner-flown Very Light Personal Jet. A cabin mock-up was shown at AirVenture in July 2009. At that time the company predicted the jet would sell for about US$2M. The company was seeking US$12M to build two prototypes and a further US$100M to complete certification and commence production. The company CEO, Michael Lemaire, indicated in 2009 that the aircraft will fill a performance niche, as there is no other four seat aircraft with the 714's speed and range. The company was accepting refundable customer deposits of US$50,000 to be held in interest-bearing escrow in 2009. The first deposit was made by Cascade Air Charter, of Bend, Oregon in October 2009. First flight of a proof of concept aircraft was achieved on 21 November 2016 before a public introduction at AirVenture in July 2017, with no firm schedule for certification. It is registered as N403KT. By July 2018, the 714 prototype had flown 185 flight hours, reaching 25,000 feet and 370 knots. The proof-of-concept aircraft had logged 250 hours by April 2019, and 330 hours by January 2020. For further details, click here.
