Originally published in 2000
The first SJ30-2 Business Jet prototype made its debut when it was rolled out of the assembly hangar at Sino Swearingen Aircraft Company’s headquarters in San Antonio International Airport on July 17, 2000.
Sino Swearingen- a joint venture between San Antonio’s Swearingen Aircraft and Taiwan’s Sino Aerospace Investment Corporation- has so far spent $250 million developing the SJ30-2. Formed in 1995 by local aviation luminary and SJ30-2 designer Ed Swearingen, Sino Swearingen employs about 400 people in San Antonio, which includes its administrative, marketing, and engineering operations.
Sino Swearingen is projecting a year-long certification program for the SJ30-2, with first deliveries scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2001. The company has 164 orders for the twin-engine SJ30-2, which it says can fly faster and for longer distances than other jets in its price range of $5 million.