thumb|The [[Cirrus Vision SF50 was the first certified single-engine civilian jet and is the most-produced VLJ with 721 deliveries as of 2025]]
A very light jet (VLJ), entry-level jet or personal jet, previously known as a microjet, is a category of small business jets that seat four to eight people. VLJs are considered the lightest business jets and are approved for single-pilot operation.
History
The first small jet-powered civil aircraft, the 1950s Morane-Saulnier MS.760 Paris, has been retroactively suggested as being the first VLJ, as it seats four with a single pilot and is smaller than modern VLJs. The production of MS.760 differs from modern business jets in having a sliding canopy for cabin access rather than a door; a six-seat version with an enclosed cabin and a conventional door was canceled after a single prototype was built.
Two unbuilt Cessna aircraft of the 1950s and 1960s would have met the definition of a VLJ. The first was the 407, a four-seat civil version of the T-37 jet trainer proposed in 1959; however, the 407 never progressed past the mockup stage due to insufficient customer interest. The second was the Fanjet 500, which had an MTOW of and a single pilot as originally envisioned in 1968; however, as the aircraft evolved into the Citation, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration demanded a second pilot and various design changes, resulting in an MTOW of .
Two VLJs in history have won the Collier Trophy, known as the most prestigious aerospace engineering award in the United States — the Eclipse 500 in 2006 and the Cirrus Vision SF50 in 2018.
Target market
VLJs are intended to have lower operating costs than conventional jets, and to be able to operate from runways as short as , either for personal use or in point-to-point air taxi service. In the United States, the Small Aircraft Transportation System is aimed at providing air service to areas ignored by airlines.
Florida-based air taxi provider DayJet, which on October 3, 2007 began its Eclipse 500 service, planned to operate more than 1,000 of the VLJs within five years, DayJet ceased operations on September 19, 2008.
Production
thumb|Still delivered, the [[Embraer Phenom 100 is the third most-produced VLJ and began production in December 2008]]
Many models are under development or awaiting certification, while others have failed. Six have so far made deliveries to customers:
- 2006–2017 : Cessna Citation Mustang
- 2006–2008 : Eclipse EA500
- 2008–present : Embraer Phenom 100
- 2013–present : Cessna CitationJet/M2
- 2014–2017, 2023–2024 : Eclipse 550
- 2015–present : Honda HA-420 HondaJet
- 2016–present : Cirrus Vision SF50
The Cessna Citation Mustang was the first production VLJ, first delivered in November 2006, and discontinued in May 2017, and the Cirrus Vision SF50 is the first single-engine production VLJ, beginning deliveries in December 2016.
Business jet sales suffered due to the late 2000s recession. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported in November 2010 that third quarter business jet sales were down 20.3% over the same period in 2009, with light jets suffering the most. In 2020, business jet deliveries slowed again due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 20% decrease over the previous year. However, the industry bounced back the following year, in 2021, with a 10% increase over 2020 and a single VLJ delivery more than in 2019. The Cirrus Vision SF50 is the most-delivered VLJ with 721 total from 2016 through 2025 and most-delivered per year since 2018, and the Eclipse 500 has the most deliveries in a single year with 161 in 2008.
{| class="wikitable mw-datatable defaultcenter col-1right"
|+ Deliveries
|-
! Year
! style="max-width:5.5em" | Cirrus Vision SF50
! style="max-width:5.5em" | Cessna Citation Mustang
! style="max-width:5.5em" | Embraer Phenom 100
! style="max-width:5.5em" | Cessna /M2
! style="max-width:5.5em" | Eclipse 500/550
! style="max-width:5.5em" | Honda HA-420
! style="max-width:5.5em" | Total
|-
! 2006
| - || 1 || - || - || 1 || - ||
|-
! 2007
| - || 45 || - || - || 98 || - ||
|-
! 2008
| - || 101 || 2 || - || 161 || - ||
|-
! 2009
| - || 125 || 97 || - || - || - ||
|-
! 2010
| - || 73 || 100 || - || - || - ||
|-
! 2011
| - || 43 || 41 || - || - || - ||
|-
!2012
| -
|38
|29
| -
| -
| -
|
|-
!2013
| -
|20
|30
|12
| -
| -
|
|-
!2014
| -
|8
|19
|46
|12
| -
|
|-
!2015
| -
|8
|12
|41
|7
|2
|
|-
!2016
|3
|10
|10
|38
|8
|23
|
|-
!2017
|22
|7
|18
|39
|6
|43
|
|-
!2018
|63
| -
|11
|34
| -
|37
|
|-
!2019
|81
| -
|11
|34
| -
|36
|
|-
!2020
|73
| -
|6
|24
| -
|31
|
|-
!2021
|86
| -
|6
|34
| -
|37
|
|-
!2022
|90
| -
|7
|33
| -
|17
|
|-
!2023
|96
| -
|11
|25
|2
|22
|
|-
!2024
|101
| -
|10
|22
| -
|11
|
|-
!2025
|106
| -
|14
|22
| -
|12
|
|-
! Total
! 721 !! !! 434 !! 404 !! 295 !! 271 !! 2604
|}
Engines
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Engine !! Thrust !! Weight !! Application
|-
| FJ33-5A || 8.21 kN (1,846 lbf) || 144.7 kg (319 lb) || Cirrus SF50
|-
| FJ44-1AP
|15.3kN (3,450 lbf)
|
| rowspan="2" |HondaJet
|-
| HF120 || ||
|-
| PW610 || || || Eclipse 500/550
|-
| PW615 || || || Citation Mustang
|-
| PW617 || || || Phenom 100
|}
Interior amenities
When these smaller jets were first mooted, there was much interest in the fact that they would not have a lavatory on board, with articles discussing the matter in The New York Times and items on NBC Nightly News. Some manufacturers argued that for short flights of and 40 to 80 minutes' duration, the lavatory issue was not a problem
List
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|-
! Aircraft
! Seats
! data-sort-type=number | MTOW
! Cabinheight
! Engines
! Max.cruise
! Maxrange
! Specific range@ TAS
! Unitcost
! style="max-width:3.5em" | Deliv.<span style="font-weight:normal"></span>
! Firstflight
! Status
|- style="background: Aquamarine"
| Cirrus SF50
| 5-7
| 6,000 lb
| 4.1 ft
| 1× FJ33
| 305 kn
| 0.863 nmi/lb @ 259 kn
| $3.25M
| 615
|
| delivered since 2016
|- style="background: Aquamarine"
| Eclipse 550
| 6
| 6,000 lb
| 4.2 ft
| 1,125 nmi
| style="max-width:5em" | $2.9m
| 35
|
| 2014-2017 deliveries, resumed 2023
|- style="background: Aquamarine"
| HA-420 HondaJet
| 6-8
| 11,100 lb
| 4.8 ft
| 2× HF120
| 422 kn
| 1,547 nmi
| 259
|
| delivered since 2015
|- style="background: Aquamarine"
| Citation M2
| 6-8
| 10,700 lb
| 4.8 ft
| 2× FJ44
| 404 kn
| 1,550 nmi
| 0.626 nmi/lb @ 323 kn
| $6.15M
| 0.626 nmi/lb @ 340 kn
| $4.995M
| 415 kn
| 1,730 nmi
|
| $2 m
|
|
| sales started 2024
|- style="background: Lavender"
| Stratos 714
| 4
| 8,421 lb
|
| 1× JT15D
| 415 kn
| 1,500 nmi
|
| $3–3.5m
|
|
| in
|- style="background: Cornsilk"
| FLS Microjet
| 1
| 659 lb
|
| 1× PBS TJ-100
| 278 kn
| 200 nmi
|
| $0.1895m
|
|
|
|- style="background: Cornsilk"
| SubSonex
| 1
| 1,000 lb
|
| 1× PBS TJ-100
|
| 300+ nmi
|
| $0.135m
|
|
|
|- style="background: Cornsilk"
| Viper Jet
| 2
| 5,100 lb
|
| 1× J85
|
| 800 nmi
|
| $0.48-0.65m
|
|
|
|- style="background: WhiteSmoke"
| Citation Mustang
| 6
| 8,645 lb
| 4.5 ft
| 2× PW615F
| 340 kn
| 1,167 nmi
| 0.641 nmi/lb @ 319 kn
| 479
|
| 2006-2017 deliveries
|- style="background: WhiteSmoke"
| Eclipse 500
| 6
| 6,000 lb
| 4.2 ft
| 2× PW610F
| 370 kn
| 260
|
| 2006-2008 deliveries
|- style="background: WhiteSmoke"
| Adam A700
| 5-7
| 9,350 lb
|
| 2× FJ33
| 340 kn
| 1,200 nmi
|
| $1.9 m
| 2
|
| 2008 bankruptcy
|- style="background: MistyRose"
| Comp Air Jet
| 8
| 8,900 lb
|
| 1× AI-25
| 320 kn
| 1,250 nmi
|
| $1.2 m
|
|
| 2006 last update
|- style="background: MistyRose"
| ATG Javelin
| 2
| 6,900 lb
|
| 2× FJ33
| 530 kn
| 1,200 nmi
|
| $2.995m
|
|
| 2008 halt
|- style="background: MistyRose"
| Diamond D-Jet
| 5
| 5,115 lb
|
| 1× FJ33
| 315 kn
| 1,350 nmi
|
| $1.89m
|
|
| 2013 suspension
|- style="background: MistyRose"
| Eclipse 400
| 4
| 4,480 lb
|
| 1x PW615F
| 345 kn
| 1,250 nmi
|
| $1.35m
|
|
| 2009 bankruptcy
|- style="background: MistyRose"
| Epic Victory
| 3-5
| 5,500 lb
|
| 1× FJ33
| 320 kn
| 1,200 nmi
|
| $1m
|
|
| 2009 bankruptcy
|- style="background: MistyRose"
|Epic Elite
|7
|
|
|2× FJ33
|390 kn
|1,600 nmi
|
| $2.35 m
|
|
| 2009 bankruptcy
|- style="background: MistyRose"
| AVCEN Jetpod
| 7-8
| 6,750 lb
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2009 crash
|- style="background: MistyRose"
| PiperJet
| 7
|
|
| 1× FJ44
| 360 kn
| 1,300 nmi
|
| $2.20m
|
|
| 2011 suspension
|- style="background: MistyRose"
| S-33
| 9
| 7,500 lb
| 5.0 ft
| 2× FJ33
| 415 kn
| 2,000 nmi
|
| $3.945m
|
|
| 2006 crash
|- style="background: MistyRose"
| Sport Jet II
| 4-5
| 5,250 lb
|
| 1× JT15D
|380 kn
|1,000 nmi
|
|$1.20m
|
|
| 2006 crash
|- style="background: MistyRose"
| Vantage
|6
| 8,200 lb
|
|1× JT15D
|350 kn
|999 nmi
|
| $1.65 m
|
|
| 2003 bankruptcy
|- style="background: PowderBlue"
| Honda MH02
| 6
| 7,937 lb
|
| 2× JT15D
| 353 kn
|
|
|
|
|
| 1998
|- style="background: PowderBlue"
| Williams V-Jet II
|
| 3,800 lb
|
| 2× FJX-2
| 300 kn
|
|
|
|
|
| 2001 donation
|-
! Aircraft
! Seats
! MTOW
! Cabin<br />height
! Engines
! Max.<br />cruise
! Max.<br />range
! Specific range<br />@ TAS