B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 1 - (Page 62) NEW AIRCRAFT N BA A 2007 continued from page 60 Large Jets Suddenly the newly launched Boeing BBJ3 looks like a modest runabout. Both the latest Boeing airliners to be launched or relaunched have secured orders, and the Airbus A380 cannot be far behind. Meanwhile, the outfitting industry struggles to with 4,660-pounds-thrust Honeywell TFE731-5BR turbofans and $11.2 million price tag. It is based on the Hawker 850XP but without winglets, and with ventral fuel tank replaced by externally accessed baggage space; wing fuel tanks have combined capacity of 1,273 gallons. The Hawker 900XP longer-range version, priced at $14.3 million (equipped), has winglets and Honeywell TFE731-50R engines flat-rated to 4,660-poundsthrust from a nominal 5,000. Compared with the Hawker 800XP, it has 250 nmi farther range— 2,850 nmi with NBAA reserves, four passengers up. Under the same conditions, the Hawker 750 travels 2,100 nmi. Both have 5 foot, 9 inch high cabins. The first production Hawker 900XP was completed in March and certified on August 24, in time for deliveries to begin this month. The prototype Hawker 750 flew on August 23; it will be certified later this year and begin deliveries early next. Verdict: It’s here go into 26,800 cubic feet of internal space (that’s equivalent to 16 Gulfstream G550s, for example), and although there is no specific business jet version engineered yet, a nonstop range of 9,700 nmi—nearly halfway around the globe— is a useful additional asset. Price is about Piaggio ‘P1XX’ In 2005, Forecast International, a market research organization, was commissioned by an undisclosed manufacturer to test the market response to a twin Airbus A380 find the capacity to equip these behemoths. In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams describes the ultimate status symbol of the megarich: the custom-built planet. Somehow that seems less far-fetched now. $300 million, plus, of course, the little matter of interior decoration. Verdict: Sub judice Boeing BBJ 3 Third and largest of the 737-related BBJ series, the Boeing Business Jet 3 was launched at last year’s NBAA Convention on the back of an order for two from—you guessed it—undisclosed customers. In fact, these had been booked against 737 commitments on August 30, 2006, and the total as of last Airbus A380 Prestige For some people, only the best is good enough. The twin-deck mega-airliner first flew on April 27, 2005, and although production problems have delayed service entry, revenue-earning flights are to start shortly. Just as the slightly smaller A340 has found corporate operators (confusingly, it is also named Prestige in business configuration), it will be only a matter of time before the European leviathan becomes the ultimate status symbol in business flying. At this year’s Paris Air Show, Airbus suggested it had sold the first A380 Boeing BBJ 3 Prestige. Earlier this month the buyer was unofficially claimed to be the flamboyant, English soccer-club-owning Roman Abramovich, a Russian oil-and-gas tycoon, rated by Forbes as the world’s No. 16-ranking billionaire, but he has denied it is he. Lufthansa Technik and Jet Aviation have been floating sample floor plans for an executive A380 as early as the 2005 NBAA Convention. A lot can Piaggio “P1XX’ turbofan design with at least two fuselage lengths, corresponding approximately to medium and lightmedium business jet sizes. Observers noted that the design was Piaggio-ish in appearance, and at the 2006 NBAA Convention the company duly put its hand up. Speculation was, at first, that the shorter version could be first to fly. With an $11 million price tag, eight seats, two 4,600-pound-thrust engines and 2,300 nmi range, it would challenge the Cessna Citation XLS and Learjet 45XR by virtue of its shorter balanced field length, faster climb and speed (M0.8), bigger cabin and longer range. The larger 10-seater—$13 million or thereabouts—is in the class of the Citation Sovereign and Hawker Horizon, and it appears that Piaggio will launch this first, as it considers the smaller end of the market too crowded and wants something larger than its P180 Avanti twin-turboprop. If the necessary funding commitment has been secured, it could be launched this week. Verdict: The jury’s not even sworn in 62 month had risen to four BBJ 3s. This variant is based on the 737-900ER, which was, at the time of launch, the longest of the 737NG family, boasting a 107-feet cabin with 1,120 square feet of floor area. A separate 932 cubic feet of baggage volume should take care of the golf clubs. Mix-and-match fuel capacity allows for three continued on page 64 September 25, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
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