And it's not a bug, it's a bug, it's aphids.
Otto Aerospace has promoted one of the most unusual business jets of recent years to certify. Phantom 3500 want to make without passenger portholes: instead of windows in the cabin, screens with images from external cameras should work. At first glance, this sounds like a designer whim, but the reason is not in the design. For engineers, the windows turned out to be a serious problem of aerodynamics.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has completed G-1 Issue Paper for Phantom 3500. Behind this dry name is an important thing for the aircraft project: the FAA recorded by what rules the aircraft will check. Now Otto Aerospace understands what requirements need to be met to bring the car to a type certificate.
The type certificate confirms that the design of the aircraft meets the standards of airworthiness and can go into mass production. Otto applied to the FAA in September 2025 and chose CFR Part 23 certification. This section of U.S. rules applies to small aircraft and sets design, handling, systems and safety requirements. The company also expects to use the changes from the 23-64, which made part of the procedures more flexible for new projects.
The G-1 closure does not mean that the aircraft has already been approved. The regulator and the developer recorded the order of work: by what standards to go and what exactly to prove. The next document, G-2 Issue Paper, should describe how Otto will confirm compliance. In aviation, this is not a formality: you will need calculations, tests of materials, checks of systems, ground tests and a full-fledged flight program.
Phantom 3500 attracted attention not only because of the cabin without windows. Otto builds an aircraft around the idea of transsonic laminar flow. Simply explained, the engineers want the air to walk along the surface with even layers, without unnecessary vortices as long as possible. The less turbulence around the body, the lower the resistance and fuel consumption.
At speeds close to the speed of sound, it is especially difficult to hold such a flow. It depends on the shape of the fuselage, joints, irregularities, protrusions and even window openings. Ordinary portholes disrupt the smooth surface, which means that they prevent the laminar flow from holding. Therefore, Otto decided to remove the windows completely, and the view overboard to move to the digital panels inside the cabin.
The idea looks bold, but it will have to be confirmed by tests. The company has already conducted unmanned flight tests in New Mexico to test the aerodynamic principles of the future aircraft. These tests do not replace the full-fledged Phantom 3500 flights, but help to understand whether the calculations coincide with the behavior of the device in the air.
Otto says that the combination of laminar aerodynamics and carbon fiber composites can reduce fuel consumption by 61% compared to modern non-middle-class business jets. The company also talks about a 35% reduction in resistance and a 90% reduction in emissions. So far, these are the producer’s targets. They will have to be confirmed on the test aircraft and in the certification program.
The project has already undergone preliminary analysis of the structure. At this stage, engineers check whether the scheme of the aircraft is sufficiently worked out to proceed to the next stages of development. Now Otto conducts in-depth tests of materials, because carbon fiber composites play one of the main roles in the project.
The first flight of the Phantom 3500 is scheduled for 2027. Flight tests are going to be conducted at Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, Florida, where Otto has created a new operating base. The company expects to put the aircraft into operation by 2030.
The Phantom 3500 already has a major customer. Flexjet has pledged to buy 300 aircraft worth more than $5 billion. For business aviation, this is one of the largest transactions of this kind. For Otto, such an order is important even before the first flight: the market actually relies on an aircraft that still exists as a development, testing and certification program.
Now the project is starting a more complex part of the path. The FAA has determined the certification frame, but Otto must prove that unusual aerodynamics, a case without windows, an on-screen interior and declared economy work not only in calculations. Phantom 3500 needs to go from engineering concept to an aircraft that the regulator will allow passengers to be transported.
Otto Aerospace has promoted one of the most unusual business jets of recent years to certify. Phantom 3500 want to make without passenger portholes: instead of windows in the cabin, screens with images from external cameras should work. At first glance, this sounds like a designer whim, but the reason is not in the design. For engineers, the windows turned out to be a serious problem of aerodynamics.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has completed G-1 Issue Paper for Phantom 3500. Behind this dry name is an important thing for the aircraft project: the FAA recorded by what rules the aircraft will check. Now Otto Aerospace understands what requirements need to be met to bring the car to a type certificate.
The type certificate confirms that the design of the aircraft meets the standards of airworthiness and can go into mass production. Otto applied to the FAA in September 2025 and chose CFR Part 23 certification. This section of U.S. rules applies to small aircraft and sets design, handling, systems and safety requirements. The company also expects to use the changes from the 23-64, which made part of the procedures more flexible for new projects.
The G-1 closure does not mean that the aircraft has already been approved. The regulator and the developer recorded the order of work: by what standards to go and what exactly to prove. The next document, G-2 Issue Paper, should describe how Otto will confirm compliance. In aviation, this is not a formality: you will need calculations, tests of materials, checks of systems, ground tests and a full-fledged flight program.
Phantom 3500 attracted attention not only because of the cabin without windows. Otto builds an aircraft around the idea of transsonic laminar flow. Simply explained, the engineers want the air to walk along the surface with even layers, without unnecessary vortices as long as possible. The less turbulence around the body, the lower the resistance and fuel consumption.
At speeds close to the speed of sound, it is especially difficult to hold such a flow. It depends on the shape of the fuselage, joints, irregularities, protrusions and even window openings. Ordinary portholes disrupt the smooth surface, which means that they prevent the laminar flow from holding. Therefore, Otto decided to remove the windows completely, and the view overboard to move to the digital panels inside the cabin.
The idea looks bold, but it will have to be confirmed by tests. The company has already conducted unmanned flight tests in New Mexico to test the aerodynamic principles of the future aircraft. These tests do not replace the full-fledged Phantom 3500 flights, but help to understand whether the calculations coincide with the behavior of the device in the air.
Otto says that the combination of laminar aerodynamics and carbon fiber composites can reduce fuel consumption by 61% compared to modern non-middle-class business jets. The company also talks about a 35% reduction in resistance and a 90% reduction in emissions. So far, these are the producer’s targets. They will have to be confirmed on the test aircraft and in the certification program.
The project has already undergone preliminary analysis of the structure. At this stage, engineers check whether the scheme of the aircraft is sufficiently worked out to proceed to the next stages of development. Now Otto conducts in-depth tests of materials, because carbon fiber composites play one of the main roles in the project.
The first flight of the Phantom 3500 is scheduled for 2027. Flight tests are going to be conducted at Cecil Airport in Jacksonville, Florida, where Otto has created a new operating base. The company expects to put the aircraft into operation by 2030.
The Phantom 3500 already has a major customer. Flexjet has pledged to buy 300 aircraft worth more than $5 billion. For business aviation, this is one of the largest transactions of this kind. For Otto, such an order is important even before the first flight: the market actually relies on an aircraft that still exists as a development, testing and certification program.
Now the project is starting a more complex part of the path. The FAA has determined the certification frame, but Otto must prove that unusual aerodynamics, a case without windows, an on-screen interior and declared economy work not only in calculations. Phantom 3500 needs to go from engineering concept to an aircraft that the regulator will allow passengers to be transported.
