

The promise of a $150,000 jet-powered light aircraft - ForHackernews
http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/who-says-a-jet-cant-be-cheap-24547164/

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Animats
_" But for more than 40 years, his abiding passion has been the idea of a
small jet engine for light aircraft."_

Williams[1] had that vision too. He'd produced the jet engines for the first
cruise missiles, and many other successful jet engines. But he was never able
to break the cost barrier.

Below 6 passenger bizjet size, jet engines don't seem to get much cheaper.
Smaller engines can be made, but the price doesn't go down by much. NASA had a
big push for smaller, cheaper jet engines in the 1990s. Failed.

Maybe with better manufacturing techniques, like making all the plumbing in
one big 3D printed piece...

[1] [http://www.williams-int.com/](http://www.williams-int.com/)

