How today's business jet buyers are super-sizing
In the 1960s, the first business jets made their entrance — the Lockheed JetStars, the North American Sabreliners, the DeHavilland-built Hawker jets, Dassault's Falcon jets, and the LearJets. They were viewed as exotic novelties by some, but they built the foundations for the future. By the 1970s, the business jet fleet grew at a phenomenal pace — witness the success of Cessna's Citation line — and gained general acceptance as serious business tools. Then came the 1980s, and big was in: Gulfstream expanded its line to include the larger and faster Gulfstream III and IV; Canadair rolled out the first of its Challenger series of wide-bodied jets; and Dassault's Falcons expanded to include models with three engines. In the 1990s, the big jet-makers went even bigger, with Bombardier Aerospace (buyers of Canadair) and its Global Express, and Gulfstream's G-V, both very-large-cabin airplanes capable of flying 6,500 nautical miles. At the same time, the lighter end of the business jet spectrum was also being fleshed out, with Cessna's CitationJet taking the lead.
In the past three years or so, business jet manufacturers identified yet another market niche: a so-called super-midsize jet that would fill the gap between the global-range jets and their shorter-range predecessors. In other words, an airplane that could take eight to 10 passengers at least 3,000 nm without sacrificing too much of the comfort offered by the larger jets, and cost less.
For Bombardier, that meant an airplane that would fit in between the Challenger 604 and the Learjet 60. For Cessna, it meant something that would beat the Citation X's cabin size. For Raytheon — owners of the Hawker line — it meant a Hawker even bigger than the 800XP. For Galaxy Aerospace, it meant topping the Astra SPX, the 2,949-nm transcontinental jet it inherited from Israel Aircraft Industries. For all the above, it also meant pricing these new niche airplanes somewhere well below the $35-million-plus of a global-range jet. And, oh yes, making sure that the avionics are the most modern and the engines the most fuel-efficient and maintenance-free.
Those are tall orders, but the four principals mentioned above have indeed come forward with super-midsize offerings. Here are brief rundowns of each design and its current status.
Cessna Sovereign
Cessna's Sovereign is being touted as a 2,820-nm, 444-knot airplane with seating for up to 10 passengers. Cessna brochures say that the Sovereign's interior volume will be 18 percent greater than that of the Hawker 800XP, a claim that indirectly acknowledges the Hawker's traditional hold on the mid-size market. The first 50 Sovereigns are set to sell for $11.995 million in 1998 dollars; after that, the sales price will increase to a projected $12.495 million, with adjustments based on movements of the consumer price index.
Scale models of the Sovereign have recently finished their wind tunnel tests and, thanks to computer-assisted design and engineering methods, drawings of full-size parts are being released to project groups tasked with manufacturing the first prototype. That prototype will be an airplane that conforms to the final design and manufacturing specifications, and its construction should begin by the end of this year, says a Cessna spokesman.
Two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306C turbofans of 5,686 pounds static thrust will power the Sovereign, and display and flight control elements of the new Honeywell Primus Epic integrated avionics system will be the avionics of choice.
First flight of the Sovereign is expected by early 2002, and certification and first deliveries of the airplane are anticipated by late 2003.
Bombardier Continental
The Continental reflects Bombardier's sense of competitiveness in that its price is set at "less than $15 million." For an eight-seat airplane that is being touted as capable of flying 3,100 nm at Mach 0.80 and costing $811 an hour to operate, the Continental promises to be quite a value indeed. Especially when you consider that Bombardier says that its cabin will be a few inches taller and wider than those of its three competitors — the Cessna Sovereign, the Hawker Horizon, and Galaxy Aerospace's Galaxy.
Continentals will be fitted with Honeywell's new AS907 turbofan engines, each rated at 6,500 pounds of thrust. Rockwell Collins' four-tube Pro Line 21 integrated avionics suite has been chosen for the airplane, which will undergo final assembly at Bombardier's Learjet facilities in Wichita. Subassemblies will be built by risk-sharing partners.
Bombardier claims that the Continental, formally announced at last year's Paris Air Show, is on schedule for a first flight in mid-2001, with certification to follow in September 2002. In October 1999, the company celebrated the first metal cutting of a Continental part — a nose gear uplock fitting — at the manufacturing facility in Montreal, Canada. So far, Bombardier claims firm orders for 39 airplanes. It's anticipated that another 25 Continentals will be earmarked for Flexjet, Bombardier's fractional-ownership operation.
Raytheon Hawker Horizon
Long before Raytheon took over the Hawker design, this distinguished line of business jets defined the mid-size market. Raytheon's job was to make a good design even better. The result is the Hawker Horizon, a much larger, more advanced follow-on to the Hawker 800XP. With a high-speed cruise range of 3,100 nm at Mach 0.82; a long-range cruise distance of 3,400 nm at Mach 0.78; the ergonomically friendly, flat-floor Hawker cabin; and a $16.283 million price tag, the Horizon will be the biggest airplane that Raytheon has ever built.
The Horizon's construction methods are worth noting. Like Bombardier, Raytheon is using risk-sharing partners to build some of its airplanes' subassemblies. In addition, operator advisory teams, consisting of owners of current airplanes, give advice, opinions, and feedback on cockpit, flight attendant, maintenance, and other operational issues. This keeps the design teams focused on real-world problems, and the means by which they can be resolved.
Fuji Heavy Industries is building Horizon wings, Messier Dowty is making the landing gear, Vickers provides the hydraulics, Smiths Industries makes the fuel system, and Fokker Elmo is making the wiring harnesses, to name a few of the partners.
The most remarkable aspect of the Horizon's construction, however, is its fuselage section. Raytheon's own carbon-fiber tape placement machines are used to manufacture both the inner and outer fuselage layers. The machines, dubbed "Vipers" by their manufacturer — Cincinnati Milacron — precisely place carbon-fiber tape on mandrels and molds. Extra tape can be put on areas that will experience higher stresses, and the computer-guided tape placement machines can even make window, windshield, and door cutouts with such precision that conventional rivets and other attendant hand-construction methods are not needed. After the tape is placed, the mandrels are removed and the carbon-fiber sections are cured in an autoclave. The result is a lighter, stronger construction that's less expensive and time-consuming to manufacture. The rest of the airplane is of conventional aluminum construction.
This same type of hybrid composite-and-aluminum construction is being used on Raytheon's new Premier I business jet — a much smaller jet in comparison to the Horizon. It's a technique that Raytheon feels is the wave of the future.
Other advanced features will be found in the cockpit. The Horizon will be the launch customer of the new Honeywell Epic avionics suite. The Epic system comprises five eight-by-10-inch, active-matrix liquid crystal displays with an operating system that can permit point-and-click operation of several aircraft systems — the schematics of which are shown on a display.
Engines will be 6,500-lbst Pratt & Whitney PW308As, which will have 6,000-hour TBOs.
Raytheon says that the Horizon's production timetable is proceeding according to plan. Tooling, test article production, and production detail design are under way now, and first flight of the prototype could happen as early as this month. Certification and first deliveries are expected in mid-2001.
So far, there are orders for more than 150 Horizons, and Executive Jet Aviation, operator of the highly successful NetJets fractional-ownership firm, has placed an order for 50 additional Horizons. On top of that, Raytheon's own fractional operation — Raytheon Travel Air — has ordered 27.
To meet this demand, Raytheon has upped its annual Horizon production rate from 24 to 36 airplanes per year.
Galaxy Aerospace Galaxy
All the other super-midsize jets have yet to see the light of day, but Galaxy Aerospace's Galaxy was certified in December 1998, and so far four Galaxies are in service. The airplane offers super-midsize cabin comfort, a maximum range of 3,620 nm, and a normal cruise speed of Mach 0.82. This permits nonstop trips from Paris to New York, assuming 85- percent-probability winds.
Galaxy uses two Pratt & Whitney PW306A turbofan engines of 6,040 lbst thrust. The cockpit features a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 avionics suite, which includes EICAS (engine information and crew alerting system).
Galaxy says that its airplane's six-foot, three-inch cabin height; seven-foot, two-inch cabin width; and 24-foot, five-inch length makes its cabin the biggest of any in the super-midsize fleet. Though most opt for an eight-seat cabin configuration, the Galaxy is big enough to handle up to 18 seats for use as a corporate shuttle. The company says Galaxy's 4,800-pound maximum payload is as much as 60 percent more than those of its rival designs.
At $18.2 million, the Galaxy is priced the highest of all the super-midsize airplanes. But Galaxy is quick to note that this is a completed price, and that its cabin is more like that of a much larger business jet — say, a Challenger's or a Gulfstream's. Cruise speeds are comparable, too. This lets Galaxy crow that its airplane offers large-airplane features at a super-midsize price.
To be fair, it should be explained that all the super-midsize jets mentioned in this article include the completion (paint and interior) in their base prices.
Galaxy Aerospace is headquartered at the Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is a partner in Galaxy Aerospace, and in addition to the Galaxy, the company sells the Astra SPX and provides product support to Galaxies, Astras, and Westwinds.
Take a vigorous economy, run up the stock market, and watch business aviation sprout new design concepts left and right. Then stand back and watch companies awash in cash flow discover the benefits of business jets. Today, it's the day of the super-midsize jet. Tomorrow, the action may be at the other end of the business jet spectrum. Get ready for a new generation of smaller jets, as evidenced by the stirrings of the CA-100 Century Jet, Safire S-26, Eclipse, and VisionAire VA-10 Vantage projects. If this keeps up, the dawn of a rash of small-turbofan, personal four- or six-seaters could soon be upon us.
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