Start-up aircraft manufacturer Flaris (Hall 4 F16) surprised attendees at the Paris Air Show by displaying a prototype of its heretofore unannounced five-place, single-engine very light jet–dubbed the LAR 01–at its exhibit booth. The aircraft that’s on display (registered as SP-YLE) has already completed low-speed taxi tests and, following the airshow, will soon start high-speed ground testing before making its first flight by year-end, Flaris sales manager Anthony Krol told AIN. EASA and FAA Part 23 certification is expected in late 2015, he said. Flaris is based in Podgórzyn, Poland.

The $1.5 million (2013 $), all-composite jet sports several unique features: a nose-mounted ballistic parachute; wide rear-opening pilot and copilot doors; detachable wings and horizontal stabilizers, for easier storage; a fuselage-mounted fuel tank, because no fuel can be held in the detachable wings; and electric deice system. Krol said the prototype is fitted with a Fadec-controlled, 1,460-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F, but added that Flaris is also considering the PW615, as well as other engines from Williams International and Price Induction. He said avionics will be a dual Garmin G600 system.

Target performance specifications include an 820-foot takeoff distance from a grass field, 380-knot top cruise speed, 62-knot stall speed, 46,000-foot maximum altitude and 1,350-nm range. Empty weight is planned to be 1,543 pounds, while mtow is projected to be 3,300 pounds.

Flaris said its parent company, Metal-Master, is self-funding the project with cash flow. Metal-Master is an established company that makes assembly-line production tooling for truck manufacturers such as Scania, Volvo, Saab and Man. While it has extensive experience in working with metals, Flaris is Metal-Master’s first foray into composites.