Modified Airplane Looks Like A Mini-737

By Chris Batcheller

Looking like a miniature 737, the Aerostar Jet is drawing lots of attention here at Oshkosh 2011. The Aerostar was originally designed for jet engines by Ted Smith, but the design was ahead of it’s time since suitable engines were not available. So the Aerostar began life with piston engines.

Fast forward to 2011 and the technology is available. Outfitted with the Pratt and Whitney 615 engines, the Aerostar design is coming full circle.  The airplane has flown and the Jim Christy and his team plan on offering retrofits and hopefully in the future new production airplanes.

PW 615 engine has 1460 lbs of thrust and the Aerostar Jet cruises at 400 knots. The airplane has a little more room for fuel which it will use to stretch the range to 1000 miles. The airplanes climbs at 5000 fpm at gross weight and has a useful load of 2200 lbs. The turbine engine installation is 500 lbs lighter, 250 lbs per engine.

The Aerostar Owners Association been supporting and upgrading Aerostars for 15 years.

FMI: www.aerostar-owners.com