Business jet updates
FIRST FLIGHTS, NEW SPEED RECORDS AND DELIVERIES
Two maiden flights, smashed speed records and a boost to business jet deliveries dominate our headline stories over the past six months.
On June 19th, the long-awaited Dassault Falcon 10X (pictured below) made its maiden flight. This lasted two hours and 30 minutes and was made from Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport in western France.
The aircraft’s twin pilots evaluated the new jet’s handling characteristics and systems at 15,000ft, then retracted the landing gear and all movable surfaces before climbing to 40,000ft, where they accelerated to Mach 0.82. The new business jet’s entry into service has slipped to 2029.
Dassault Falcon 10X
In July, Textron Aviation’s Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen3 (above) completed its maiden flight. The aircraft took off from Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower National Airport on a near two-hour mission. The new aircraft reached 41,000ft and a maximum speed of 278 knots.
Speed records also fell, in July a Bombardier Global 8000 flew from Los Angeles to Farnborough in 8h 46m. Not to be outdone, in June a Gulfstream G800 flew from Melbourne, Australia, to Moline, Illinois, covering 8,303nm (15,37km) nonstop in 16 hours 56 minutes. The OEM claims this as the farthest and fastest flight in business aviation history.
There was also a boost for business jet deliveries in the first half of the year – rising by 8% compared with the same period last year, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Total aircraft billings jumped by 15.5% to $14.3bn for the first six months of the year, reported GAMA.
