Florida-based MS760 Corporation announced plans to bring back the MS760 Paris Jet, a 1950s Morane-Saulnier design that’s been called the original very light jet.
French manufacturer Morane-Saulnier launched the MS760 Paris Jet in 1954 as a military training and liaison twinjet. Beechcraft introduced the MS760 to the U.S. market in 1955, and in 1958 the Paris Jet earned FAA certification. The MS760 was powered by two 900-lbst Turbomeca Marbore turbojet engines.
JetSet purchased the 30 remaining MS760s from Daher Socata (the successor company that acquired Morane-Saulnier’s assets), along with its tooling, parts, engineering drawings, and 60 new or newly rebuilt Turbomeca engines. An additional 10 airplanes were bought from the Argentinean air force. JetSet intends to refurbish the old airframes, install modern avionics, re-engine them with a single Pratt&Whitney JT15D-4 or Williams FJ44 turbo fan engine, and sell them for approximately $550,000. A final choice of engine has yet to be made. The price includes training for the type rating and a one-year warranty.
With the new engine, JetSet says that its remanufactured MS760 should be able to cruise as fast as 400 knots, and have a maximum range of 1,400 nm. The new engines will also be a whale of a lot quieter than the straight-pipe Turbomecas.
Type certificate transfer is expected sometime in the first quarter of 2010. Right now, JetSet says that it should take delivery of seven of its MS760s in the next 30 to 90 days. Two airplanes in the first shipment will be set up to perform formation aerobatics at airshows, beginning in 2010.
JetSet says it will establish marketing, engineering, and support programs to help sell and maintain the fleet. The company says it will offer an introductory trade-up program, special fuel pricing, and financing. Currently, JetSet estimates there are only 27 Paris Jets in flying condition in the United States today.
Thomas A. Horne
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