What's Coming Down The Runway For Business Aviation

Twin Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 turbofans bestow 7,500-nm range on Gulfstream’s largest, heaviest and roomiest business jet. Revealed at the NBAA Convention in Las Vegas last October—by when Qatar Executive and Flexjet were already signed-up as customers—the $75 million, five-zone cabin G700 kept a tryst with the sky last Valentine’s Day and by early May, three prototypes were opening the fight envelope ahead of planned certification in 2022. The test fleet already has exceeded the guaranteed Mach 0.925 maximum cruising speed and altitude of 51,000 ft. Optional accommodation includes a master suite with stand-up shower.

This twin step-up from the Model 208 Caravan offers cruising at 200 kt. over 400 nm sectors, powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6As. First airborne on May 17, the prototype is a passenger version with cabin windows; the second machine, flown Aug. 11, is a windowless freighter and is the variant chosen by launch customer FedEx. Alternative loads are 19 passengers (equal to 5,000 lb.) or, as a freighter 6,000 lb.—loose, or in three LD3 containers. A simple SkyCourier is already tried and tested: strut-braced wings, a T-tail, fixed landing gear, Garmin G1000 avionics and no pressurization.

First flight of this $47 million replacement for the abandoned Falcon 5X, borne aloft by a pair of 13,460-lb.-thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada PW812D turbofans, is expected early next year. “The tallest, widest cabin in business aviation” is 40 ft. 4 in. long not including cockpit and baggage compartment, 6 ft. 6 in. high and 7 ft. 2 in. across at the floor (8 ft. 6 in. maximum fuselage width), and carries up to 14 passengers in three zones. NBAA IFR ranges are 5,500 nm with eight passengers at Mach 0.82 or 5,100 nm at Mach 0.85.

Thirty years after the second prototype gained its type certificate, the third Seastar 12-passenger, push-pull (Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A) turboprop flew on March 28 and began validation of recent improvements—including a Honeywell Primus Epic 2.0 cockpit, new five-blade MT propellers, revised landing gear from Sumitomo and a water-maneuvering thruster—as a prelude to series production. Now employing composite parts, the aircraft sells for $7.5 million, cruises at 180 kt. and has a range of 900 nm. A paramilitary surveillance version, named Orca, was launched in May 2019 for 2022 availability.

Delayed almost three years by its new, but to be delivered by year-end, 1,300-shp General Electric GE93 Catalyst single-power-lever turboprop, the Denali utility transport will carry a 1,100-lb. full-fuel payload and offer 285 kt. maximum speed, plus 1,600 nm range with four passengers. The 5-ft. 3-in.-wide, pressurized cabin is 4 ft. 10 in. high and 16 ft. 9 in. long. It is accessed via a forward door or rear freight door (4 ft. 2 in. wide) and has seating for a typical six executive passengers and two pilots, although nine-plus-two represents maximum occupancy.

Dec. 23, 2019: 24 years after its program was announced, the fourth and last AW609 prototype took to the air and joined the certification trials fleet of the world’s first civil tiltrotor. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67A engines and carrying up to nine passengers in a pressurized cabin, the vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft has a cruising speed of 275 kt. and can span 700 nm—about double the numbers for an equivalent helicopter. Worldwide orders total 50, and deliveries are to begin next year to Bristow Group (formerly Era).

Having noted reactions to its 714 prototype of 2016, Stratos flew the longer (31-in.) and wider (3.5-in.) cabin 716 on July 2, intending to build experience with the 716X kitplane before launching a certified 716. Pratt & Whitney Canada supplies power: a 2,900-lb.-thrust JT15D-5 in the 716X; PW535 of 3,400-lb. thrust in the certified aircraft. Starter avionics are Garmin G3X Touch; while the G3000 or G5000 will come with certification. Both versions can carry a full load of six passengers over 1,200 nm or four over 1,500 nm, all at 400 kt. and cruising up to FL410.

New Honeywell avionics (four-screen, state-of-the-art SyberVision) under flight-test since last October are paving the way to resumed production of Ed Swearingen’s eight-place light jet. Two Williams FJ44-2A turbofans power the $8.5 million baseline SJ30i, which is due for revalidated certification next year. The more powerful FJ44-3AP-25 is in the follow-on SJ30x, which is due to come out two years later at $9 million each. Although the design is 30 years old, the company still claims the SJ30 is the fastest, longest-range, light business jet.

Certified in Europe on July 1, with FAA approval expected soon, the twin-engine H160 will begin deliveries imminently. Among these will be ACH versions for clients in eight countries across North America, Latin America, Europe, China and Southeast Asia, who will be able to select interiors for between four and 10 passengers. The standard corporate version is known as Stylence; the customized VIP (with hinged doors and electrically deployed foot-step) is the Exclusive. Cruising will be at 155 kt. and endurance with 10 passengers is 4 hr. 30 min. Airbus also offers the ACH125, 130, 135, 145 and 175.

Newly flown, Otto Aviation’s first product is an all-out designer’s airplane, blending high aerodynamic efficiency with low emissions from an equally novel diesel engine. Carrying six passengers in a “stand-up” cabin and at a projected cruising speed exceeding 460 mph, the Celera has a range of 4,500 nm, $328-per-hour operating cost and miserly fuel consumption between 18 and 25 mpg. Its emissions already are well below limits specified for a decade hence and will be developed for hybrid and electric power when the technology is right. Certification and production are planned, but at an undisclosed time.