Business Aviation Highlights of 2015

Honda Aircraft began deliveries of the HondaJet on Dec. 23 from the Greensboro, North Carolina, production line. Designed and developed in the U.S, and powered by overwing-mounted GE Honda HF120 turbofans, the composite-fuselage light business jet received FAA type certification on Dec. 8 after 12 years of flight testing. 

Building on the success of its 400XT remanufacturing program for the Beechcraft 400A/Hawker 400XP light business jet, Nextant Aerospace flew its upgraded King Air G90XT for the first time on Jan. 15 from Cleveland. The Beechcraft-built turboprop is reengined with General Electric H75 turboprops and fitted with a Garmin G1000 cockpit. FAA certification was achieved in November, with production to begin in 2016.

Dassault’s Falcon X ultra-long-range business jet, a stretch of the Falcon 7X, made its first flight from Bordeaux-Merignac, France, on Feb. 6. Scheduled for certification in mid-2016, the trijet is designed to fly 6,450 nm at Mach 0.8. Rolled out on June 2, Dassault’s twin-turbofan, large-cabin Falcon 5X was planned to fly in 2015, but has been hit by a 12-18-month delay in certifying its Snecma Silvercrest engines.

Gulfstream’s G500 long-range, large-cabin business jet made its first flight from Savannah, Georgia, on May 18. Four of five planned test aircraft were flying by November and the G500 is scheduled for certification in 2017 and service entry in 2018. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW814GAs, the G500 is designed to fly 5,000 nm at Mach 0.85 and 3,800 nm at Mach 0.9.

Pilatus Aircraft’s first business jet, the super-light PC-24, made its first flight from Stans, Switzerland, on May 11. Powered by two Williams FJ-44As, the aircraft is designed to operate from short and unmade runways, with a range of 1,800 nm and speed of 425 kt. Flight testing will involve three prototypes, and certification and first deliveries are planned for 2017.

Cessna’s Citation Latitude midsize business jet received FAA certification in June. Deliveries began in August. The Latitude can fly 2,850 nm at long-range cruise speed. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306Ds, the Latitude has a slightly swept wing similar to that of the larger Citation Sovereign, but a new fuselage providing a flat-floor, stand-up cabin.

In July, Bombardier delayed service entry of the Global 7000 ultra-long-range, ultra-large cabin business jet by almost two years, to 2018, citing development challenges including a redesign of the wing. The first of four flight-test aircraft is in the final stages of assembly and is to fly in 2016. Powered by General Electric Passport 20s, the Global 7000 is designed to fly 7,300 nm at Mach 0.85.

Embraer’s medium-light business jet, the Legacy 450, received Brazilian and FAA certification in August. A shortened version of the all-new, fly-by-wire Legacy 500, the Honeywell HTF7500E-powered Legacy 450 can fly 2,575 nm at long-range cruise speed and reach up to Mach 0.83. Deliveries are scheduled to begin by the end of 2015.

Bombardier paused development of the midsize Learjet 85 in January, citing the continued weakness of the lower end of the business jet market. Challenges with development and certification of the all-composite airframe had already delayed first flight to April 2014. In late October, the company canceled the Learjet 85, along with 65 orders, taking charges totaling $2.6 billion.

Cessna entered the large-cabin business-jet market in November, announcing the clean-sheet, 4,500-nm-range Citation Hemisphere (bottom) is to fly in 2019. With a 102-in.-wide cabin, the aircraft is larger than the Citation Columbus canceled in 2009. The super-midsize Citation Longitude (top), to fly in 2016, has been repositioned below the Hemisphere, with range reduced to 3,400 nm.

Aerion received a firm launch order in November for 20 AS2 supersonic business jets from fractional-ownership Flexjet. With increased engineering, management and eventually manufacturing support from the Airbus Group, Aerion aims to formally launch development of the tri-jet AS2 by mid-2016 following selection of an engine. First flight is planned for 2021 and entry into service in 2023.