It is a canard layout powered by a pusher turboprop engine, and a high, swept wing carrying endplate fins on the tips.^[1] Construction was of metal throughout. The cabin could seat six to seven passengers, and incorporated quick-change seating, allowing rapid conversion for freight.^[2] Early in development, plans existed to produce a turbofan-powered version of the design,^[3] but this did not happen.

The first prototype flew on 11 December 1981^[4] and OMAC ("Old Man's Aircraft Company") hoped to obtain type certification by mid 1982.^[5] This was delayed by a ground accident, and then a landing accident caused by the failure of an undercarriage locking pin.^[5] A second prototype flew on 19 February 1983,^[5] and certification was expected "no later than December 1984",^[6] but in late 1983, the process had barely started.^[7]

In the mid-1980s, it was tested at the Langley 12-Foot Low-Speed Tunnel to investigate its stability and control characteristics.^[8] Special attention was paid to behaviour at high angles of attack and to stall and spin resistance,^[8] and it was found to have poor longitudinal stability at high angles of attack.^[8] The wing was modified, with extensions added to the trailing edge flaps, and a discontinuous, leading edge droop added to the outboard section of the wings.^[8] Stall characteristics were good since the canard provided a nose-down pitching moment.^[8] Changes were tested on the second prototype before the design was frozen in April 1985.^[9] Additionally, production machines were to have a different fuselage with a round cross-section, a redesigned nose, and additional baggage space.^[10][11]

OMAC relocated from Reno, Nevada to Albany, Georgia in January 1985, as Ayres Corporation was to manufacture them at their Albany plant.^[5][12] Certification was then anticipated by mid-1986.^[5] and by late 1986, a third prototype was under construction, incorporating refinements that had been tested on the second machine.^[13] This machine was built alongside three other Laser 300s, together representing the first four of thirty aircraft that Omac hoped to build by the end of 1987.^[14] The third prototype, and first production machine flew on 29 July 1987 and certification was now expected by May 1988. By now, production was running a year late, and projected costs had risen from $US 550,000 to $875,000.^[15] The aircraft was displayed at the NBAA show in Dallas, Texas in October 1988, by which time 56 hours of flight testing had been carried out without incident.^[16] Certification was delayed again, and expected by late 1989 or early 1990,^[17][16] however, $20 million was required for certification and production,^[18] but insufficient funds were raised and development stalled.^[19] Omac continued to offer the aircraft as late as 1993, along with an improved version designated the Laser 360.^[20]

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1987–88 p.480

General characteristics

• Crew: two pilots
• Capacity: five passengers
• Length: 29 ft 7 in (9.02 m)
• Wingspan: 41 ft 6 in (12.65 m)
• Height: 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
• Wing area: 230 sq ft (21 m²)
• Empty weight: 3,800 lb (1,724 kg)
• Gross weight: 6,400 lb (2,903 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135A , 750 hp (560 kW)

Performance

• Cruise speed: 290 mph (470 km/h, 250 kn)
• Range: 2,165 mi (3,484 km, 1,881 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 30,000 ft (9,100 m)
• Rate of climb: 2,000 ft/min (10 m/s)

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• AASI Jetcruzer
• Beechcraft Starship
• Piaggio P.180 Avanti

Citations edit

Bibliography edit

• "Ayres readies Laser 300 production". Flight International. 5 January 1985. p. 13.
• Chambers, Joseph R. (2003). "Concept to Reality: Contributions of the Langley Research Center to US Civil Aircraft of the 1990s" (PDF). Washington D.C.: NASA. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
• "Laser 300 shows changes". Flight International. 12 October 1985. p. 2.
• "Making History". Flight International. 15–21 September 1993. pp. 34–36.
• "OMAC 1". Flight International. 28 May 1983. p. 1538.
• "OMAC 1 takes to the air". Flight International. 26 December 1981. p. 1887.
• "Omac and Avtek progress". Flight International. 22 October 1983. p. 1093.
• "Omac builds Lasers". Flight International. 6 December 1986. p. 16.
• "Omac builds modified Laser 300". Flight International. 18 October 1986. p. 16.
• "Omac displays Laser 300". Flight International. 29 October 1988. p. 8.
• "Omac flies Laser 300". Flight International. 20 August 1988. p. 6.
• "Omac freezes Laser 300". Flight International. 19 October 1985. p. 15.
• "Omac hunts for funds". Flight International. 11 February 1989. p. 9.
• "Omac ready for second flight". Flight International. 3 April 1982. p. 777.
• "Production Laser 300 flies". Flight International. 13 August 1988. p. 18.
• Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1985–86. London: Jane's Publishing.
• Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1987–88. London: Jane's Publishing.
• Sarsfield, Kate (2–4 October 1991). "Corporate Aircraft Buyer's Guide". Flight International. pp. 29–42. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.