SyberJet to unveil SJ36 light jet at NBAA-BACE with coast-to-coast range

SyberJet will unveil a full-scale mock-up of the SJ36 light jet at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas on 19 October, in an area of the static display dubbed SyberJet World. According to FlightGlobal, the mock-up will include a complete interior and cockpit.

SyberJet claims the SJ36 will be the only light jet with nonstop US coast-to-coast capability. The provisional price is $14 million.

The aircraft and its design lineage

The SJ36 is based on the Williams International FJ44-2A-powered SJ30-2, which aircraft designer Ed Swearingen built in the 1980s. The design was certificated under Sino Swearingen, a successor company, in the 2000s. Only around a dozen aircraft were ever built, with four entering service. Despite several attempts to revive the programme under successive owners—including efforts to certificate an upgraded variant called the SJ30i in the late 2010s—the programme has remained largely dormant.

Only one SJ30-2 remains in private ownership. Actor Morgan Freeman took delivery of the final example in 2009 and flew the type for several years.

Performance and engines

SyberJet has worked on the SJ36 since entrepreneur Trevor Milton bought the business in 2024. The aircraft will deliver a top speed of Mach 0.88, compared with the SJ30-2's Mach 0.83. Crucially, it will have a range of 3,000 nautical miles, compared with the SJ30-2's 2,500 nautical miles.

This improvement comes largely from FJ44-4A engines, each delivering 3,620 pounds-force of thrust, compared with the SJ30-2's 2,300 pounds-force powerplants. The FJ44-4A is the same engine powering the Cessna Citation CJ4 and Pilatus PC-24. Milton signed the engine deal with Williams International, based in Pontiac, Michigan, at last year's NBAA-BACE.

SyberJet claims the SJ36 will maintain sea-level cabin pressure at 41,000 feet. FlightGlobal reports Milton as saying the SJ36 can deliver coast-to-coast flight for 50–70% less than a $1 million midsize charter.

FlightGlobal notes that the SJ36 is effectively the first all-new light jet on the market since the launch of the Pilatus PC-24 in 2013, though the design itself dates from the 1980s. It is unclear from available reporting when the aircraft is expected to be certificated or when the first delivery is planned.