The World's Smallest Jet! An Interview with Justin Lewis, Pilot of the FLS Microjet

Whoever said bigger is better probably hasn't met Justin Lewis of Lewis & Clark Performance and his microjet. Known as the world's smallest jet, the FLS microjet first appeared on the air show circuit in 2011. Justin Lewis, pilot of the FLS microjet, says this jet is certainly a change from his previous and current flying career. This is the most fun I've ever had in an airplane ever and I've flown a lot of very cool things. I have a lot of general aviation in my background. I've and I can honestly say this is the most fun I've ever had in an airplane. When I put this airplane on and I really put it on, you feel like you're truly strapping into an airplane because you can look behind your shoulder and you see a pair of wings sitting right there. My feet are in the very front, my head's in the middle, and you're just this guy kind of sticking out in the space. It's amazing. Coming in at 13 feet long, microjet is certainly one of the smallest air show acts out there. In a world where people sometimes don't notice small details or small things, you may ask why the microjet? The reasoning lies in Justin's past. We decided on the microjet because I was getting out of the Navy soon. I was on active duty and I knew I needed to do something for a job really when I was getting out of off active duty and going to go part-time in the military. Airlines weren't hiring and I always wanted to get into the air show industry, but to do that I knew we also needed to do something unique. So this airplane inspired me when I was a kid and I felt like this was a good opportunity to inspire other kids if I could complete this project. While the airplane already has a unique reputation as the world's smallest jet, it also has another accolade when it comes to the gear. The gear is considered the world's fastest landing gear, so it's not only the world's smallest airplane, but it's also the world's fastest landing gear. I can put them up or down in less than half a second. There's a mechanical lever that's right between my legs and after I take off, I just take my hand off the throttle for a moment, push it forward and those gear come up quickly. In terms of performance, few home builds outperform the microjet. Powered by a 265 pound thrust jet engine and only weighing 416 pounds, the thrust to weight ratio of the aircraft is just phenomenal. So this jet is powered by a 265 pound thrust jet engine. The jet only weighs 416 pounds, so it's a pretty good thrust to weight ratio. We've tested it up to 250 knots indicated airspeed and it's just got an amazing aerobatic performance out when we do air shows. In its normal state, Justin can get about 170 miles of flight out of the aircraft, but with the addition of an auxiliary tank, the aircraft can go over 300 miles at high altitudes of around 12,000 feet. When people think of home builds, they often think of something that they can just easily build in their garage and go fly it. However, Justin says that this is not 100% true when it comes to the microjet. People want to believe that they can go out and just grab this airplane, it's a kid airplane, and they can go build it, and that's simply not the case. It is a difficult airplane to build. It's not a hard airplane to fly, but it needs to be built well and it needs to be flown by someone who's qualified to fly it. The hardest thing about this airplane is just convincing yourself that when you come into land, it's okay to go a little bit lower to the ground than you're used to. Justin's microjet has been upgraded with the latest avionics and technology. Grand Rapids Technology partnered up with Lewis and Clark Performers to bring the latest and greatest to the microjet. When people see this airplane, one of the first things they notice right away is the avionics. It's got two glass displays that Grand Rapids Technologies make. They're amazing displays that keep up with the high roll rates and the high performance in this jet, and what I really love about it is that this is an avionics package that was originally meant for maybe some experimental prop aircraft, but I can call up to the factory and ask them for some changes and they work with me, so I really love the one-on-one attention I get with them. While many people know about the microjet in the airshow industry, they've also played a role in government contracts. Justin and his team partnered with U.S. Fleet Tracking to track the aircraft and testing with a device that is about the same size as a wallet. U.S. Fleet Tracking has really been a big help to us bringing us here to Oshkosh. They're the reason that we're able to perform here today, and to help them out, we're actually showing everybody where we are at all times, so you can track us at this airshow if you go to the U.S. Fleet Tracking website. Nowadays, the U.S. Fleet Tracking device allows airshow fans to track the microjet on its journey across the U.S. to shows and other special events. You can track the microjet online at jet.usft.com. For more pictures, videos, and blog posts about airshows all across the U.S., check out airshowstuff.com.