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Flying High
Maverick Jets, Inc. creates a niche with an affordable, lightweight executive jet

by Anne Straub
Brevard Technical Journal

Photo courtesy Maverick Jets, Inc., © 2002.

In a world where everything is relative, Jim McCotter's description of his product could become a slogan for his company.

"It's the common man's jet," he said of the jet produced by his Melbourne company, Maverick Jets Inc. A product for the common man priced at $750,000 might not fly with most people - until you consider the millions needed to buy other business aviation jets.

He hopes the price will motivate more companies to start their own corporate fleet, tapping into a business aviation market that has grown over the past decade.

Maverick's distinction, McCotter says, is being the only jet company to have a lightweight personal executive jet that's flying. Other companies trying to tap the market, including New Mexico-based Eclipse Aviation, have not yet begun delivering planes to customers.

Maverick, meanwhile, is selling two or three of its five-seat jets a month to customers internationally. The company's jet has been flying for three years, and the company began marketing it this year.

McCotter touts operating costs that come in far under those of the company's current competitors. Hourly operating costs for typical business jets can run into the thousands of dollars, he said. Maverick's product costs less than $200 an hour to fly.

"That's not a lot more expensive than driving an automobile," he said. In fact, McCotter uses an automobile analogy to describe the jet, calling it the jet sports car of the 21st century. The key is the all-composite frame, which keeps the weight of the empty craft under 3,000 pounds. The plane is powered by twin turbo jet engines, remanufactured for a lightweight craft with 750 pounds of thrust each, and can fly at 400 mph.

Jim McCotter, President of Maverick Jets, Inc. Photo by Craig Rubadoux, © 2002.

Such jets create an affordable niche in a world most business jets are priced in the millions, noted Pete West, senior vice president for government and public affairs for the National Business Aviation Association in Washington, D.C. "The idea is to broaden the market so more companies can enter the business aviation community," he said.

Companies already are making corporate fleets a trend. According to NBAA, approximately 6,600 companies were operating 9,500 business aircraft in 1991. Ten years later, those numbers had jumped 50 percent to 9,700 companies operating 14,800 aircraft.

Businesses with their own jet enjoy the flexibility, on-time performance and availability for time-critical travel that business aviation offers, West said. In particular since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks complicated air travel, they save even more time over flying commercially.

The advantages are enjoyed by more than just the top brass: Only about 14 percent of passengers on business aircraft are upper management, according to the NBAA.

Part of McCotter's interest in an affordable, lightweight executive jet came out of his own business travels. "I wanted it for myself," McCotter said. "I knew this was an enormous opportunity, a multibillion-dollar market out there just waiting to be tapped."

His team of engineers working on a design discovered a small, private group that had been working on a similar project for several years and was running low on money. McCotter bought the company over a year ago, expanded and relocated it from Colorado to Melbourne to take advantage of the Space Coast's skilled workforce and potential customer pool.

Maverick now occupies a 35,000-square-foot production and manufacturing facility in Melbourne and employs about 50 people.

McCotter himself is selling a $4 million home in Vail, Colo., so he can move to Melbourne. He first came to Florida in 1988 when he bought Florida Radio News Network, one of many media outlets he has acquired. McCotter started buying and selling companies in the 1970s with the aim of creating value and building up financial strength.

He and his wife, Barbara, have nine children, which McCotter refers to as their baseball team. "We've been blessed," he said.