The next big thing in BIZAV
The odds on an all-new business jet being announced any time soon are high.
After a flurry of launches, which Bombardier, Dassault Aviation, & Gulfstream Aerospace seemed to be going all out to trump their rivals’ top offerings in terms of range & cabin size & comfort.
The focus changed to #certification & delivery, with the big three manufacturers concentrating on bringing their latest types into service.
Speculation around Bombardier doing something to refresh or replace its enduring & successful Challenger family has prompted some analysts to wonder.
There are also questions over whether Embraer or Textron might fancy another audacious adventure into a new segment.
The large-cabin #Challenger650, which has gone through multiple iterations, has its roots in the 1980s.
Its super-midsize Challenger 3500 sibling dates from the early years of this century, although it too has been updated.
Embraer’s last clean-sheet launches were the original Legacy 450 & Legacy 500, which morphed into the Praetor 500/ 600.
As for the Brazilian manufacturer they might be ready to begin developing a new #aircraft in the next two years.
However, there was no elaboration on whether this might be a #businessjet or a commercial programme.
Question remains, whether Embraer which broke into the business #aviation market in the early 2000s, has the appetite to risk billions of investment dollars to tussle in a large-cabin segment dominated by others.
Textron Aviation, which has more business aviation types than any other manufacturer under its Cessna Citation & Beechcraft brands, did launch into the large-cabin segment in 2015 with the Citation Hemisphere, its largest aircraft to date.
However, it abandoned the programme three years later over problems with the Safran Silvercrest engine.
Although, Gulfstream retains the power to surprise. Several of its launches have only been revealed when the programme is already well down its development path; some have even flown.
However, with new-ish types in almost every segment it competes in, other than the super-midsize G280, it is hard to see which gap Gulfstream might feel the need to fill.
The Honda Aircraft Company Echelon remains the only acknowledged clean-sheet business jet in early-stage development.
Alongside Embraer, Cirrus Aircraft & Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, the airframer is the only other successful new entrant to the business jet market since the 1990s.
At the other end of the business aircraft spectrum, Airbus still has high hopes for the corporate version of its A220-100 #airliner in a segment dominated by Bombardier, Dassault & Gulfstream.
While the #ACJ TwoTwenty’s range of 5,650nm may be less than that of its ultra-long-range rivals, the derivative makes up for that in cabin dimensions.
Nevertheless, my bet is still on Textron revisiting an old project that was “paused” at the time which might be worth a revisit.
#businessjet’s are awesome!
#bizjet #bizav
Licensed Aircraft Engineer(Senior B1 Certifying Engr.)/Mech-Engr. CL-600-2B16 (601/604/605)/GE CF34-3B Series Engine, CRJ 700/900/1000 Series, Boeing 737-300/400/500 with CFM 56 Engines rated. Well experienced on HS-125.
2moMagnificent Machine….