U.K. Internet Venture Investing in Fleet of Six-Seat Turboprops.

• Position: Investments of Farnborough-Aircraft.com in transportation aircraft fleet - Brief Article

A team of British investors is set on deploying a fleet of six-sear, single-engine turboprop planes, which will provide taxi services for distances up to 1,000 miles. One of the aircraft's key selling points is its ability to use small airfields denied to most other planes.

The U.K.-based venture, called Farnborough-Aircraft.com, is touted as the "first ever" Internet-financed aerospace company. Investments in the company, said a spokesman, come "directly off the Internet." The company also relies on the net for employee recruitment and product advertising. According to briefing charts presented during this summers Farnborough Air Show, the company has 32 employees and plans to grow to 50 by year's end.

The six-seat (including pilot) all-composite aircraft is called Fl and currently is being designed as a computer model, even though the company had a full-scale mockup on display at the air show. The FL Fleet, if it reaches fruition, will operate from more than 7,000 currently under-used small airfields in Europe and North America. The goal is to transport passengers 50 percent faster than commercial airlines and offer on-demand service at airline business-class rates, company officials said.

The taxi service will allow Internet ticket booking and point-to-point travel over distances up to 1,000 miles. Farnborough-Aircraft.com officials said they plan to build and fly two prototype allcarbon composite aircraft by 2002. They concede that funding is uncertain, but are confident that the demand for the first-generation single-engine turboprop commercial aircraft...