Jets

Even as the large-light HondaJet continues to make headway in flight and ground testing toward a scheduled 2013 certification, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is recognizing the man behind the aircraft – president and CEO of Honda Aircraft Michimasa Fujino – for the aerodynamic innovations that lie within the jet’s distinctive design. […]

Bombardier is prepping for the start of certification flight testing of the all-composite Learjet 85 as the first of five eventual test airplanes for the program undergoes final assembly in Wichita. Bombardier isn’t saying exactly when the first flight will occur, but with certification and entry-into-service of the Learjet 85 targeted for late next year, […]

Just a few days after Gulfstream’s G280 super-midsize business jet achieved full type certification, the company announced its flagship G650 has followed suit, clearing the way for the start of deliveries before the end of the year. Now that it has the official ok from the FAA, the G650 takes speed and endurance to new […]

Embraer begins final production today of what will be the first U.S.-assembled Phenom 300 at its Melbourne, Florida, facility. Scheduled for delivery in early 2013, the aircraft is one of more than a dozen 300s slated for production in Melbourne next year. It was less than two years ago when the company broke ground on […]

Bombardier’s new Learjet 75 business jet came to life for the first time last month on the company’s Wichita production line. Aircraft power, including the avionics, was switched on during the week of August 21 as the aircraft progresses toward a planned 2013 certification, according to Bombardier. As we previously reported, the Learjet 75 is […]

One particularly eye-catching design for a fuel-efficient supersonic jet has captured the interest of NASA, which awarded the group behind the airplane a $100,000 grant to further explore its potential. The design features a bi-directional flying wing with a shape that resembles a ninja star. The craft, thought up by engineers at the University of […]

The Gulfstream G280 super-midsize business jet has received full FAA type certification, the manufacturer announced on Tuesday, nearly four years after Gulfstream first announced the follow-on to the G200. The G280 has since flown more than 2,000 hours over the course of nearly 800 test flights, during which the airplane stretched its legs from its […]

Flying a light jet hadn’t been on my radar. But when Tom Torti offered me a spin in his Citation Mustang, I couldn’t refuse. With a couple of exceptions, I had never really flown a smaller jet, the 727 being my first jet. The opportunity to compare notes with the 777 seemed like a great […]

Cessna last week announced a new, unofficial speed record that would allow the up-and-coming Citation Ten to snag the coveted position of the world’s fastest civilian aircraft, if the numbers pan out during certification of the jet. Cessna says the new Citation Ten can now reach a high speed of Mach 0.935, which would give […]

Cessna’s new Citation Latitude has extended its legs with a new range that maxes out at 2,500 nautical miles, bringing a 25 percent increase to its initial expected range of 2,000 nm. The announcement was made last week at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition, and comes after a previous extension of the […]