Stratos Aircraft Inc. have announced the successful first flight of their Stratos 716X Multi-Role  VLJ, designed to seat six people and support personal, business and air taxi use.

The single PWC 535 turbofan engine 716X with a cabin width of 4.9 ft and height of 4.8 ft, is longer and has a wider cabin than the 714 Proof of Concept aircraft introduced at Oshkosh in 2017. The all-carbon airframe is designed to cruise at 400 kts.

The 22 minute maiden flight on July 2nd climbed to 13,500 ft. and conducted a series of manoeuvres to evaluate handling characteristics. The flight was the first of an extensive test program that will be completed over the coming months.

The Stratos 716X will be offered as an experimental kit build aircraft while the 716 will be certified by the FAA for production.

“We see producing a limited number of kit aircraft as a logical step towards certification. It will allow customers who don’t want to wait for the 716 certification an opportunity to own and operate a Stratos 716X much sooner, while we continue to develop our production processes.”  said Stratos Chief Technical Officer, Carsten Sundin

Stratos Aircraft are based at Redmond, Oregon, USA and launched the 716 at Oshkosh '18.

Stratos 716X test aircraft

DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGY

The Stratos 716-CERTIFIED exploits the full potential of advanced technology, space age materials and cutting edge manufacturing techniques. The result is an aircraft that will be uniquely suited to transport 6 people in cabin-class comfort at speeds and ranges that no other aircraft can match for its size or acquisition cost.