Falcon 900LX – The French, followed by an Italian and an American.

Shot over The Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Coast in 2014, this making-of snippet is an unusual take on the normal glossy business jet promotional videos we see nowadays, many often computer-generated.

Kudos to Dassault for creating and releasing this very real 3-minute behind the scenes version to accompany the actual official marketing video of about 1 minute. The long version of the making-of video is just over 5 minutes and can be seen on the Dassault Falcon website.

Amazingly, the French manufacturer used the Aermacchi MB339 (the Italian military jet) and the B25 Mitchell (the American bomber aircraft) to take photographs and shoot the videos of the Falcon 900LX (the French corporate jet).

What is truly extraordinary is that the B25 Mitchell, a WW2-era bomber aircraft first introduced in 1941 and officially “retired” in 1971, was used to follow and photograph one of the most modern business jets in the world, and take those airborne photographs through a hole in the rear of its fuselage with the photographer attached to a safety “harness”.

There were almost 10,000 B25s built so there’s likely to be quite a few enthusiasts around who can still fly the B25 and take a photo or two for creative aircraft marketers like Dassault.

It is worth seeing the final edited version of the marketing video and compare the behind the scenes “shoot” with the official marketing version. There may well be a “three guys walked into a bar” joke somewhere off the coast of Florida and we can only marvel at the skills and talents of all involved. Bravo.

www.dassaultfalcon.com/en/MediaCenter/MediaGallery/Pages/videoresults.aspx#k=#s=31

Airbus Pop.Up – Urban Mobility is aviation’s biggest challenge?

Virtually all science fiction movies contain elements of a future world where the skies are peppered with drone-like airborne vehicles in dystopian urban mists. Think Blade Runner 2049, iRobot and the gloriously bonkers The Fifth Element. Miraculously, these vehicles never seem to crash into each other, ATC is non-existent and bad weather isn’t a problem. However, science fiction often doesn’t translate well into science reality, especially when it comes to commercial aviation.

Nevertheless, many aerospace designers are now furiously challenging the boundaries of aviation, especially when it comes to power generation options, take-off/landing possibilities and even air traffic rules. What is truly remarkable is how many creative futurists, engineering geniuses and imaginative designers are being bankrolled by large global companies such as Uber, Google, Toyota, Siemens along with Airbus, Embraer and Boeing in order to realise this future vision. NASA of course has been in this “space” for years. Non-aerospace global corporations such as Audi have joined in the race, getting heavily involved with Airbus and ItalDesign in the “Pop.Up” concept. Uber Elevate is even planning to have a prototype model and VTOL platform ready for the Dubai 2020 Expo followed by a similar launch in Dallas by 2023.

The well-regarded German consultancy, Roland Berger, estimates that there are “about 100” electric-powered aircraft currently in development. Whilst many of these are embedded or are subsidiaries within the larger parent (e.g. Airbus Vahana, Embraer X, Uber Air), many are start-ups such as Volocopter, SureFly, Aurora, XTI Aircraft, Faradair, Lillium, eHang184, IFO, Project Zero, Vertical, Cora (backed by Larry Page), Flyer by Kitty Hawk – the list goes on and is growing.

With a UN forecast that there will be 41 mega-cities in the world by 2030 (a mega-city is defined as one with over 10 million people), the race is well and truly on to design, manufacture and market an aircraft and ecosystem that can integrate into an urban mobility landscape whilst being feasible, practical, safe and environmentally friendly. The likelihood is that the aircraft will be either fully electric or hybrid and will almost certainly use some form of vertical take-off and landing design.

It’s also more likely to be piloted by a Sullenberger than a Spock, if piloted at all. What looks certain is that the not-too-distant future of urban mobility will include airborne vehicles. Lots of them.

HondaJet Elite – one small step for Honda, one giant leap for HondaJet.

The traditionalists in the business jet manufacturing community were skeptical when Michimasa Fujino initiated the HondaJet project in 1986. Many challenged the basic concept of the Honda Jet vision and of course, the now iconic wing-mounted engines.

Some thirty years later and having built a green-field manufacturing facility in Greensboro, North Carolina, HondaJet have now upgraded their 2015 launch model with the HondaJet Elite, offering 17% longer range than the original launch model via a lighter cabin, better engine aerodynamics and an auxiliary fuel tank. At 1,437NM, the HondaJet Elite can now operate non-stop from London to Istanbul or New York to Houston – a move welcomed by the very competitive light jet market.

HondaJet increased the price mind you to US$5.25m to pay for the upgrade (US$300,000 more than the original standard model) and you will pay extra for the optional fully enclosed belted lavatory for example. Given Honda’s automotive heritage and huge investment in the project to date, the overall end result is predictably top quality and very high-tech.

The good news for HondaJet is that it delivered 43 units in 2017 making it the highest seller in its class. This winning streak continued in 2018 with the model topping the light business jet category in deliveries for the first two quarters. Given the range upgrade, we can expect more of the same from this small but mighty “new entrant”.

www.hondajetelite.com

Falcon 8X Global Test Campaign – exhausting, exhaustive, exhilirating.

26 days, 55,000 nautical miles, 60 flights, 46 cities, 26 pilots, 1 8X.

At circa US$58m, the Falcon 8X is a metre longer than its 7X sibling and with some aerodynamic and fuel tweaks, gets an additional 10% range to 6,450NM or 11,945KM. This equates non-stop from London to Cape Town or Paris to Los Angeles with a full payload. Nice.

Whilst the 8X doesn’t have the ultra long range of the Global 7500 or the G650ER, the three engines and classy cabin interior of the 8X are more than a match for the competition. Oh and about US$13m less than the Bombardier Global 7500.

Worth the extra few bob? 8X Owners will argue they’re getting a relative bargain, they remain fiercely loyal and Dassault will expect strong sales.

www.dassaultfalcon.com/en/aircraft/models/8x

Four Seasons Private Jet Experience – one for the bucket list?

Often voted the best luxury hotel chain in the world, Four Seasons brings their hospitality talents to private aviation luxury vacations using a Boeing 757-200ER with 52 sleeper seats offering 78 inches/2 meters of personal space. Promising the finest dining experience on board (including an on-board chef), visiting several exotic locations over 3-4 weeks and only staying in Four Seasons hotels or resorts, it is pampering of the highest order.

An unusual take on the private aviation experience and as far removed from the stereotypical package holiday trips as one can imagine, it is not for the budget conscious. It is all-inclusive mind you. Prices start at US$106,000 per trip with 6 different types of journeys. Many are waitlist only so if it tickles your fancy, book early.

www.fourseasons.com/privatejet

ACJ320neo “Melody” – heady stuff indeed.

Wonderfully modern and tasteful interior from Airbus for their ACJ range, the ACJ320neo in this case. Can be applied to the other aircraft variants in the ACJ executive jet family although not sure what Jean-Luc Picard or James T Kirk would make of the cabin divider doors.

The circular cabin tables save oodles of space when folded on themselves and they could well become a design classic. The interior looks fantastic and at over US$100m per finished aircraft, it will need to be.

The Global 7500 – the game changer in the ultra long-range market?

Very likely to raise envious glances in Savannah and Paris, the self-styled “world’s largest and longest range business jet” from Canada’s Bombardier has certainly captured the market imagination as well as the business jet media headlines.

Scheduled for a formal customer operational launch in late 2018 and with a unique four-zone cabin in this market sector, the Global 7500 finally is set to tackle the G650ER head-on. With a higher list price (circa US$73m) than the G650ER (circa US$69m), the longer range and larger cabin space of the Global 7500 looks likely to be a winner.

While the Falcon 8X’s tri-engine merits wins the short-runway battle, expect Gulfstream to announce a fightback to regain the long-range crown. In the meantime, Bombardier holds the NM range belt. To quote the legendary boxing referee Mills Lane: “Let’s get it on!”

Gulfstream Customer Support – Classic (al)

Sharp video showcasing Gulfstream’s customer support platform using an orchestra backdrop. You needn’t be a fan of classical music to appreciate the video originality. Well done to our friends in Savannah.

Airbus A350 VIP – New Queen of the Private Skies?

Designed by the Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ) division with Lufthansa Technik, the new flagship aircraft of the Airbus VIP family may well cement the twin-engine strategy triumph over the four-engine challengers such as the A340VIP and the BBJ747.

Expect a very keen battle between the A350VIP and the BBJ787 for the relatively few orders that such extraordinary interiors, wide-body cabins and ultra long range capabilities will attract.

The ACJ VIP version offers endless opportunities to evolve traditional large cabin long range VIP aircraft into remarkable flying palaces. Sweeping panoramic views in the cabin using external cameras are just the start. Aircraft designer nirvana.

External real-time panoramic views with no windows – and why not?

Using external cameras to project images inside the cabin, this may be viewed as an aviation furturist’s fantasy. Not exactly. The camera technology already exists as do the aircraft solar panels which would power the low-voltage displays into the fuselage and interior cabin roof. Removing windows reduce weight and the screens would allow for multiple immersive sensory images to be shown.

The potential is obvious as are the regulatory challenges (emergency exits?) and the design concept may well need a large business jet manufacturer backing to give it the boost to launch. IXION admit the design execution is a real challenge but as a concept, it may well gain traction.

Check out the article on www.dezeen.com/2014/08/11/ixion-windowless-private-jet-by-technicon-design