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Nearer to becoming a true form of personal aviation is still that of the personal air plane. Sure, people have been flying personal light aircraft like the Cessna for decades; billionaire Donald Trump and other tycoons have their own private jets; and actor John Travolta flies his own Boeing 707 right out from beside his house like most of us drive out from our garages; but the generally-unaffordable personal aircraft is still a luxury limited to a select few. We are, however, beginning to see low-cost hybrids of jet aircraft going into production.
Aviation Technology Group’s (ATG) Javelin is a two-seater military-style twin-engine civilian jet. At US$2.795 million, the Javelin offers jet fighter performance at a fraction of what you’d be likely to pay if you could buy a fighter jet. Next to current business jets like the Gulfstream, Cessna Citation, or Learjet, the Javelin looks like a Ferrari does when parked next to common saloons. It also similarly outperforms them in terms of capability. The two-seater jet is equipped with two 1,800-pound thrust Williams International jet engines, and can reach speeds up to Mach 0.9. The Javelin has already had over a hundred orders placed for it with ATG.
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The ATG Javelin, a two-seater military-style twin-engine civilian jet, which reaches Mach 0.9
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The Sport-Jet, a single-engine pressurized craft for four, with a range of 1000 nautical miles
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Another personal jet aircraft in the works is the Sport-Jet, a single-engine, all-fiberglass, pressurized aircraft designed for a single pilot, and operationally capable of carrying four (including pilot) at cruise speeds of 340 knots over 1,000 nautical miles. Expected to sell for under US$1 million when it reaches the market in late 2007, the Sport-Jet can truly be considered an ‘affordable’ jet aircraft.
Despite this plethora of emerging choices, it remains to be seen if the personal airplane will ever become as ubiquitous as the automobile - despite the best efforts of carmakers like Honda who have recently entered their 7-seat HondaJet into the growing verylight jet (VLJ) market. Whether or not the concept of personal planes for everyone takes off depends not only on building the actual craft, but overhauling the entire air-traffic control system as well. Even if it were possible to design a cheap personal craft that could be parked beside your home, huge social and environmental changes would be required to make it acceptable. But whatever the fate of personal aviation, mankind's constant efforts to push the limits of invention will ensure we will have many more choices in the way of personal airborne transport. 
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Text GAVIN TAN
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