Bombardier, the Canadian jet maker, will put its Global 8000 private jet into service later this year, and it’s a speedy beast. The jet is set to be the fastest civilian aircraft since Concorde and will fly at top speeds of Mach 0.94 (1,152 kilometers per hour / 715 miles per hour), which nearly exceeds the speed of sound.
The Global 8000 follows on from Bombardier’s record-breaking Global 7500, which first took off with passengers in 2018, becoming the world’s fastest and longest-ranging civilian aircraft service. According to Bombardier’s website, this new model will be able to carry 19 passengers, offering them luxurious journeys with a range of 8,000 nautical miles (14,816 kilometers / 9,206 miles), stopping at destinations such as Dubai, Houston, Singapore, Los Angeles, London, Perth, and many others.
Although the jet will travel at Mach 0.94, it is capable of going faster. During its test flights in 2021, Global 8000 broke the sound barrier, reaching Mach 1.015 (1, 1253 km/h / 779 mph), but it will not operate at this speed when it has passengers on board.
During an interview with the South China Morning Post, Emmanuel Bornand, Bombardier’s vice-president of international sales, explained that “There was a time in aviation when you had to make trade-offs – choosing between using smaller, more convenient airports, speed and range, or a more pleasant cabin experience versus faster flights on more turbulent wings.”
The jet can achieve supersonic speeds but will fly just below the sound barrier when carrying passengers.
Image credit: Bombardier
“In the case of the Global 8000, you get it all. Bringing the best range, speed and ability to go to smaller airports with a four-zone cabin makes this aircraft unique.”
At present, Bombardier has around 5,000 jets in service, but they will soon be joined by Global 8000 later this year. The new aircraft will bring with it a range of innovations, including a new Smooth Flĕx Wing design that is slightly curve-shaped. This was engineered to effectively be “two wings in one”, the company’s website claims, offering “a high-lift wing for exceptional low speed agility and a high-speed wing for unrivalled speed and range”.
This helps reduce turbulence and maintains high-performance standards, even during bad weather conditions.
“We looked at the important things to customers, which typically are range, speed and comfort, and said, ‘OK, what can we do?’,” Stephen McCullough, Bombardier’s senior vice-president of engineering and product development, told the South China Morning Post.
The aircraft’s internal cabin altitude will be pressurized for below 884 meters (2,900 feet) when flying at 12,497 meters (41,000 feet), which is the lowest cabin altitude in its class. This, Bornand claims, will help passengers feel less fatigued during their journeys.
The last time a civilian aircraft traveled at a comparable speed to the Global 8000 was back in 2003, when Concorde was still in service. So the arrival of a new, near-supersonic jet is an exciting development for the industry.
Source Link: Fastest Civilian Jet Since Concorde To Fly Passengers At 1,152 Km/h In Total Luxury
