It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s A Microjet
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Updated: 6:00 PM Jan 18, 2006
It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s A Microjet
Smaller, faster, cheaper new jets that could transform flying will take to the sky later this year.
Posted: 6:00 AM Jan 19, 2006
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Think of an SUV with wings.

You'll be seeing them in the sky later this year.

So-called "microjets" will begin flying as early as this summer.

They're small, speedy cheap planes supporters say will make good use of tiny airports in out-of-the way locations where airlines don't fly.

But the Federal Aviation Administration and airline pilots are worried the jets will make the already-crowded skies around major airports even more congested.

Unlike small turbo-prop planes, the small jets can cruise at jetliner altitude.

The founder of one microjet manufacturer says he envisions the jets as part of a national network of air taxis--for-hire limousines with wings that will land in place jetliners and executive jets can't.

But the some of the planes fly slower, leading the Air Transport Association to say they'll be the equivalent of cars going 45 miles-per-hour on the highway.

Brazil’s Embraer announced last June it was accepting orders for its Very Light and Light Jets, which were launched in May.

The Very Light Jet carries up to eight people and has a range of 1,160 nautical miles with four people on board.

It has a maximum operating speed of about 500 miles per hour and can fly at altitudes of as high as 41,000 feet.

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