In practical terms Bombardier barely moved the needle on its newest bizjet offering, but the company says it’s a fundamental shift in the market. CEO Eric Martel told media at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas on Monday that the increase of the maximum operational speed of the Global 8000 from 0.94 Mach to 0.95 Mach is much more than 0.01 on a dial. “It’s a turning point in the way we travel the world,” Martel said. With the minuscule spec change, Bombardier is now laying claim to building the world’s fastest business jet.
The plane won’t routinely fly that fast and maximum cruising speed will be Mach 0.92. The slightly higher maximum number gives an operational margin that allows that high cruise number, the company said. Martel said they started investigating increasing the top speed three years ago and took the already-set design back to the wind tunnel to see what it could do. It was tested up to 1.2 Mach and gave the company the confidence to increase the top speed. Transport Canada inspectors were involved fully with the process, and certification with the higher number is expected by the end of the year.
That extra almost-7 knots (I calculated at 30,000 feet; your speedswill vary, but not by much) doesn’t sound like a lot, and in practical terms, a cruise phase that’s 1% shorter isn’t much, but the considerable engineering and certification efforts demonstrate the Company’s understanding of the mindset of its high-end customers.
A bold triumph of marketing over reality!