Jets

Deep cuts in military spending ordered by the Obama Administration would reduce American military forces to their lowest level since before World War II and signal the end of the line for two iconic military aircraft, the high-flying Lockheed U-2 spyplane and tank-busting A-10 Warthog. Under the proposed military budget, the entire A-10 fleet would […]

Look for the Learjet 85 to make its hotly anticipated first flight in the coming weeks after Bombardier completed engine ground runs and low-speed taxi tests prior to receiving the necessary first-flight permit from the FAA. The Learjet 85 is the first all-new airplane from the manufacturer in more than 15 years. Launched in 2007, […]

In clear, cool Kansas-winter skies, Cessna took its latest bizjet offering, the Citation Latitude, on its first flight yesterday morning. The two Pratt & Whitney PW306D turbofan engines that power the midsized business jet took it up to 28,000 feet and 200 knots, the upper speed limit for the flight. The Latitude has a ceiling […]

The FAA has signed off on a supplemental type certificate that brings new capabilities to the Eclipse 550 very light jet, the new version of the Eclipse 500 now in production in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The STC adds auto throttles and anti-skid brakes (ABS), reducing the workload for the pilot and enabling the airplane to […]

A couple of weeks before the National Business Aviation Association convention, at a gathering of journalists in Paris, French aircraft manufacturer Dassault launched its latest jet, the Falcon 5X, a twinjet. The project had been known as the SMS, though Dassault had never officially revealed any details of the program. The 5X, a 69,500-pound large-body […]

Embraer Executive Jets closed out 2013 with an important milestone in its Legacy 450 development program as it took the fly-by-wire mid-light business jet to the skies on December 28, meeting its targeted first-flight schedule. “The flight was a success,” said Embraer’s test pilot Eduardo Camelier, who flew the airplane with copilot Eugênio Cará. “The […]

Cessna has extra reason to celebrate this holiday season after announcing the recent FAA certification of both the new Citation M2 and the Citation Sovereign+. The Cessna Citation M2 was first introduced in the fall of 2011 and intended as a step-up for Citation Mustang owners. Priced at $4.4 million, the M2 features Garmin G3000 […]

Following the announcement of the certification of the GE Honda HF120 engine last week, the HondaJet has received its type inspection authorization from the FAA. The TIA indicates that the HondaJet meets certain design requirements, and it allows FAA test pilots to begin the final testing phase required for type certification. Over the past couple […]

Every year, the editors at Flying get together to select a small group of new products that have had an impact on the world of aviation during the previous calendar year. The airplanes that made the cut this time around were unusual choices for us. One of them, the Citation M2, recently received certification. Cessna […]

Bombardier achieved certification of its Learjet 70, a super-light-jet stalemate of the Learjet 75 that earned its approval papers a few weeks ago. Validation of the airplane, a revamped version of the Learjet 40, clears the way for immediate deliveries of the Model 70, which Bombardier launched in May 2012 amid a slowing market for […]