A business jet, private jet or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more personal comfort than commercial aircraft, and may be adapted for other roles, such as casualty evacuation or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by public bodies, government officials, VIPs or even the armed forces.
The Learjet 60 is a mid-size cabin, medium-range business jet aircraft manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace in Wichita, Kansas. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305A engines, it has a range of 2,405 nautical miles (4,454 km) with NBAA 100 nmi (190 km) reserves, ISA. In July 2012 Bombardier Aerospace announced a temporary "production pause" of the latest variant Learjet 60XR to begin in the fourth quarter of 2012.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 2004.
The British Aerospace 125 is a twinjet mid-size business jet. Originally developed by de Havilland and initially designated as the DH.125 Jet Dragon, it entered production as the Hawker Siddeley HS.125, which was the designation used until 1977. Later on, more recent variants of the type were marketed as the Hawker 800.
The Hawker 800 is a mid-size twinjet corporate aircraft. It is a development of the British Aerospace BAe 125, and was assembled by Hawker Beechcraft.
The Hawker 400 is a light business jet. Initially designed and built by Mitsubishi, it has been further developed and updated by the Beech Aircraft Company, now part of Textron Aviation.
The Cessna Citation is a family of business jets by Cessna that started in 1972 with the entry into service of the first model. In the fifty years following the 1969 first flight, more than 7,500 Citations were delivered, forming the largest business jet fleet. Deliveries reached 8,000 by 2022, while logging over 41 million flight hours.
The Hawker 4000, originally known as the Hawker Horizon, is a super-midsize business jet developed by Hawker Beechcraft.
The Cessna Citation II are light corporate jets built by Cessna as part of the Citation family. Stretched from the Citation I, the Model 550 was announced in September 1976, first flew on January 31, 1977, and was certified in March 1978. The II/SP is a single pilot version, the improved S/II first flew on February 14, 1984 and the Citation Bravo, a stretched S/II with new avionics and more powerful P&WC PW530A turbofans, first flew on April 25, 1995. The United States Navy adopted a version of the S/II as the T-47A. Production ceased in 2006 after 1,184 of all variants were delivered.
The Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D is a small turbofan engine built by Pratt & Whitney Canada. It was introduced in 1971 at 2,200 lbf (9,800 N) thrust, and has since undergone a series of upgrades to just over 3,000 lbf (13 kN) thrust in the latest versions. It is the primary powerplant for a wide variety of smaller jet aircraft, notably business jets.
The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet between 1973 and 1993. When used by the United States Air Force, they carry the designation C-21A. Learjet was acquired by Bombardier Aviation in 1990 and is now a subsidiary, so the aircraft is also known as the Bombardier Learjet 35.
The Beechcraft Premier I is a light business jet aircraft manufactured by the Beechcraft division of Hawker Beechcraft. The aircraft was designed to compete with the Cessna CitationJet series of aircraft.
The Learjet 45 (LJ45) aircraft is a mid-size business jet aircraft produced by the Learjet Division of Bombardier Aerospace.
On October 25, 1999, a chartered Learjet 35 business jet was scheduled to fly from Orlando, Florida, United States to Dallas, Texas, United States. Early in the flight, the aircraft, which was climbing to its assigned altitude on autopilot, lost cabin pressure, and all six on board were incapacitated by hypoxia, a lack of oxygen in the brain and body. The aircraft continued climbing past its assigned altitude, then failed to make the westward turn toward Dallas over North Florida and continued on its northwestern course, flying over the southern and midwestern United States for almost four hours and 1,500 miles (2,400 km). The plane ran out of fuel over South Dakota and crashed into a field near Aberdeen after an uncontrolled descent.
The Cessna Citation III is an American business jet produced by Cessna and part of the Citation family. Announced at the October 1976 NBAA convention, the Model 650 made its maiden flight on May 30, 1979, received its type certification on April 30, 1982 and was delivered between 1983 and 1992. The cheaper Citation VI was produced from 1991 to 1995 and the more powerful Citation VII was offered between 1992 and 2000; 360 of all variants were delivered, while a proposed transcontinental variant, the Citation IV, was canceled before reaching the prototype stage. An all new design, the Citation III had a 312 sq ft swept wing for a 22,000 lb MTOW and a 2,350 nmi (4,350 km) range, a T-tail and two 3,650–4,080 lbf (16.2–18.1 kN) TFE731 turbofans. Its fuselage cross section and cockpit were kept in the later Citation X, Citation Excel and Citation Sovereign.
The Cessna CitationJet/CJ/M2 are a series of light business jets built by Cessna, and are part of the Citation family. Launched in October 1989, the first flight of the Model 525 was on April 29, 1991. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification was awarded on October 16, 1992, and the first aircraft was delivered on March 30, 1993. The CJ series are powered by two Williams FJ44 engines; the design uses the Citation II's forward fuselage with a new carry-through section wing and a T-tail. The original CitationJet model has been updated into the CJ1/CJ1+/M2 variants; additionally, the CJ1 was stretched into the CJ2/CJ2+ which was built between 2000 and 2016. The design was then further developed into the CJ3/CJ3+, built from December 2004 to present, and finally into the CJ4 which has been built since 2010. By June 2017, 2,000 of all variants had been delivered.
The Cessna Citation V is a business jet built by Cessna. A stretched version of the Citation S/II, a Model 560 prototype flew in August 1987, it was certified on December 9, 1988, and delivered from April 1989; 774 were delivered until 2011. The upgraded Citation Ultra was announced in September 1993, the Citation Encore upgraded with PW535 turbofans was announced in 1998, before the improved Encore+. Its US military designation is UC-35 as an executive transport and OT-47B as a drug interdiction reconnaissance aircraft.
The Cessna Citation Sovereign is an American business jet developed by Cessna, part of the Cessna Citation family. Announced at the 1998 NBAA convention, the Model 680 made its maiden flight in February 2002, certification was awarded on June 2, 2004, and deliveries began in late September. The Citation Excel fuselage was stretched and joined with an all-new, larger wing and more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306C engines for increased maximum takeoff weight and a 3,200 nmi (5,900 km) range. The improved Sovereign+ was announced at the October 2012 NBAA for a first flight in April 2013 and deliveries in December, with added winglets and an improved flight deck and engines.
The Sport Jet II was an American amateur-built aircraft that was under development by Sport-Jet, Limited. The Sport Jet was designed by Robert Bornhofen who licensed the intellectual property to Excel Jet. The aircraft was intended to be supplied as a kit for amateur construction. The first Sport Jet built crashed on takeoff after logging 23.8 hours of flight time.
On 29 May 2021, a Cessna 501 Citation I/SP crashed into the Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee. All seven occupants died, including diet guru Gwen Shamblin Lara and her husband, actor Joe Lara. In a report released on March 22, 2023, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the cause of the accident was "the pilot's loss of airplane control during climb due to spatial disorientation."
