The Next Bombardier Flagship; Global 8000 Much of the news for Bombardier was focused on their current large-cabin ultra longrange flagship the Global 7500. The aircraft is almost in a league of its own competing only with one other purpose-built business jet, Gulfstream's newly minted G700. The G700 just entered commercial service after being granted certification at the end of March. For Bombardier, they have been trying to stay ahead of the curve by solidifying the gains they made with the Global 7500 and adding to it in the form of further efficiencies and comfort expected by the future Global 8000.
The G700 of Gulfstream's stable is currently one of the fastest executive jets flying with a maximum top end of Mach 0.935. The Global 8000 will be one will also be among the fastest when it touches certification in 2025 boasting a Mach 0.940 top speed. With the Gulfstream G700 already pushing a range of 7,750 nautical miles at long range cruise of around Mach 0.85 Bombardier is surely trying to make the newest Global model as efficient as they possibly can. Gulfstream also has the G800 under development which is slated to fly 8,000 nautical miles. This aircraft will be a bit smaller than the G700 and a bit slower at Mach 0.925. It is plenty for Bombardier to watch with their developing Global 8000.
The Global 8000 will have a range of 8,000 nautical miles beating the G800 only in the speed department (Mach 0.940 vs Mach 0.925). Understanding Gulfstream past tactics, they are likely being slightly conservative and will announce a performance bump in range and speed from the initially advertised figures. The G800 is in the middle of its flight test program and on the first test of the second flight test article the aircraft already flew at Mach 0.935 so Bombardier will be closely monitoring these developments as they try to stave off the strong Gulfstream headwinds. When the Global 8000 enters service the launch customer should be NetJets. For more information: Bombardier Aerospace 400 Côte-Vertu Road West Dorval, Quebec H45 1Y9 Canada www.bombardier.com ***
