5 of the best Private Jet in 2018

Gulfstream G650/G650ER

5 of the best Private Jet in 2018. The G650 entered service only five-anda- half years ago, but already Gulfstream (gulfstream.com) has delivered a combined total of more than 300 examples of the original aircraft and the extended-range variant, the G650ER, which entered service in 2014. Priced at US$70.15 million ($92.3 million), the G650 is the fastest largecabin, non-supersonic aircraft to circumnavigate the globe. The G650 can fly nonstop for 12,950 kilometres at 900km/h, while the G650ER has a range of 13,900 kilometres when flying at that same speed.

The maximum operating speed for both aircraft is 982km/h. At 45,000 feet, the air pressure in the G650ER’s cabin feels like the altitude is only 4000 feet. Depending on its configuration, the 14.3-metrelong cabin can seat 18 passengers and sleep 10. At 1.9 metres tall and 2.5 metres wide, it offers plenty of headroom and elbow room. – LARRY BEAN

Bombardier challenger 350

The Challenger 350 entered service in 2014 as an upgrade to the then 10-yearold Challenger 300, and surpassed 200 deliveries in 2017 on its way to becoming the year’s most-delivered business jet, according to data collected by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Bombardier (businessaircraft.bombardier.com) delivered 56 examples of the Challenger 350 last year, priced at US$26.67 million ($35 million).

The jet’s 5925-kilometre range and 850km/h cruising speed enable it to fly eight people from London to New York in a little over six-and-a-half hours. The 7.7-metre-long cabin can be configured to accommodate eight to 10 passengers, and it’s furnished with fully reclining seats. – L.B.

Pilatus PC-24

Pilatus (pilatus-aircraft.com), the 79-year-old Swiss aircraft manufacturer that has been producing the very popular PC-12 turboprop since the mid- ’90s (more than 1500 have been delivered), has dubbed the PC-24 – its first-ever jet of any kind – the world’s first-ever SVJ: super versatile jet. The billing refers to the aircraft’s runway capabilities.

The PC-24 requires only 856 metres to take off and just 718 to land, and it’s designed to touch down smoothly even on unpaved runways. The aircraft is priced at about US$8.9 million ($11.7 million). The PC-24 has a maximum cruising speed of just over 800km/h, and its range is just over 3700 kilometres when carrying three passengers and two pilots. It seats 11 people (eight in a double club configuration) in a cabin that is seven metres long, 1.7 metres wide and 1.55 metres tall. – L.B.

Cessna Citation Latitude

It didn’t take long for the Cessna Citation Latitude to become the world’s best-selling midsize jet. In 2016, a year after the aircraft entered service, Textron Aviation (cessna. txtav.com), the owner of the Cessna brand, delivered 42 examples of the Citation Latitude, making it that year’s most-delivered midsize jet. Last year the delivery number jumped to 54, placing the US$16.65 million ($21.9 million) aircraft second only to the Bombardier Challenger 350 in deliveries among all business jets. The Latitude’s flat-floor cabin – the first in the Citation line – offers 1.82 metres of headroom. It’s nearly 6.7 metres long and can accommodate as many as nine passengers.

The jet’s maximum range without passengers is 5280 kilometres, and it can fly more than 4900 kilometres non-stop when carrying four passengers and travelling at its high cruising speed of 825km/h. – L.B.

Embraer Phenom 300/300E

Embraer (embraerexecutivejets.com) has begun deliveries of the enhanced (thus the E) version of what has been the world’s best-selling light jet. Last year marked the sixth straight year that the Phenom 300 was the most delivered light jet. Priced at US$9.45 million ($12.42 million), the 300E has the same performance capabilities as the 300 (3650-kilometre range and 840km/h cruising speed), but with a redesigned cabin with a new cabin-management and in-flight entertainment system by Lufthansa Technik.

Reading lights and fans have been moved into the panel to create more headroom above the seats. The cabin design is based on the new interiors of Embraer’s midsize Legacy 450 and Legacy 500. – L.B.

Sources: Robb Report Australia, July 2018

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