Latest Developments in Business Jets

Many commercial planes and business jets in use today are often over 30 years old. They were manufactured in the 1970s and are still perfectly safe as they are well maintained and designed to give good performance for many years.

However technology has advanced significantly since those days and computer controlled electronics and avionics materials have reached such a high state of the art standards.that the founders of jet design couldn't possibly comprehend such advancements.

In June 2007 the Dassault Falcon 7X was launched. It can fly faster, higher and further distances than any other previous Falcon. It contains a fly-by-wire system. This cutting edge avionic design reduces weight and allows extremely stable and fine mastery of control surfaces. Computerised controls interact with the cables and electronics needed to alter the angles of the flaps and other gear.

You get almost instant adjustment to all flying conditions and the lighter weight of this aircraft means less fuel consumption. This is very beneficial considering the distances that the Falcon 7X can reach. It can fly nearly 6,000 nautical miles nonstop at close to 50,000 feet traveling at 575mph/925 kph.

As well as being fast the Falcon is also very comfortable to fly in. It has a cabin height of over 6ft which means that unless you are very tall you won't need to stoop. Smaller jets tend to have low ceiling height in the cabin. It also has a width of nearly 8ft giving you plenty of space to stretch out and relax.

The Adam A700 is another aircraft in a new class of design called VLJ (Very Light Jet). It's low weight means less fuel and higher speeds. It's a 6 seater private jet and is 40ft long with a wingspan of 44ft. The Adam A700 can reach speeds of up to 400 mph and has a range of 1,600 miles. Although this is only a fraction of the distance that the Falcon 7X can reach it can still get you half way from New York to LA.

Cessna announced at last years Paris show that it was looking at a larger Citation Jet to seat up to 9 people. It would have a spacious cabin, galley and toilet. Cessna are considering the LCC to add to it's business jet range