Entry Level Jet

A Very Light Jet (Entry Level) or Light Jet can transport fewer persons than a bigger one, but there is a good chance that it can transport as many persons as are actually needed most of the time: Typically, two to four persons - plus crew - travel between 700 and 900 kilometres on corporate jets, which is far within the Light Jet capabilities.

For the most part, any velocity differential between a light jet and its bigger equivalents on such feet is nominally - only 10 to 20 min. Conversely - a light jet may need more stops - and another itinerary to link couples of cities divided by greater distances - which is a significant saving of travel times in comparison to the one flew by a greater mate.

However, as the size of the planes increases - and so does the headroom and legroom for a larger cab volume - the Light and Entry Level Jet is ideal for short distances, which are a relatively small detail - you won't be able to fly long enough to sense inconvenience. Most referees today have defined a light jet as just under 9,000 kilos to take into account the new entry level (very light) jet sector, which begins at around 2-700 kilos.

Since the Learjet 45 was awarded certification at the end of 1997 - the airline has evolved and improved - it has expanded its attractiveness with today's light jet products - the Learjet 40XR and the Learjet45XR. With a height of 1.50 metres and a width of 1.56 metres, the Learjet 40XR and 45XR staterooms differ only in length - with the 40XR at 5.4 metres and the 45XR at 6.02 slightly more than half a metre longer.

Thanks to its higher capacity, the Learjet 45XR also provides more cruising distance (approx. 3-647 kilometres) - but the smaller 40XR still provides a useful cruising distance of 3-191 kilometres. AIRCRAFTThe world's leading producer of corporate jets is offering six Entry Level/Light Jet segment aircraft with four members of the same product group.

XLS+Today's Citation XLS+ stands for years of progress in modern designs that keep the Light Jet models functionally and attractively in the Light Jet family. Passengers profit from a 1.73 metre high cab - 1.68 metres wide and more than 5.6 metres long. The Citation XLS+ can also link up to 3-500 kilometers without losing the possibility of using a runway less than 1-100 kilometers.

More than two years ago, the CitationJet Cessna re-invented this prototype airplane and turned it into a whole series of light jet engines with different abilities to meet a number of owners' needs. Furthermore, they divide two of three cabins. Fourty-five metres high and six-foot-width.

Regarding the length - the CJ1+ cab is 3. 35 metres, the CJ2+ measuring 4. Fourteen metres; the CJ3+ is four. and the CJ4 is 5.29 metres. Its other three ranges from 2-400 kilometres for the CJ1+- to 3-000 kilometres for the CJ2+- and almost 3-500 kilometres for the CJ3+.

This is another re-invention of the entry level into the possession of corporate jets. Citation Mustang provides convenient accommodations for up to five people in the cabin - which is 1.37 metres high, 1.4 metres broad and about 3 metres long. The SF50 VisionThe SF50 Vision is the first jet designed by a firm that certified its first airplane - the SR20, an innovation single-engine reciprocating airplane - just over a decade ago.

Whilst the max aim is 2-727 kilograms - the SF50 Vision is predicted to have a cruising distance of almost 1-850 kilometres, in return for the predicted cost of 1.72 million dollars (currently the cheapest available jet price). Again, it is an airplane that was designed for use with only one aviator. $1.85 million is another high quality plane.

The Eclipse 500A twin-jet jet, which probably launched the Entry Level/Very Light Jet segment - the Eclipse 500 owe its existance to new technologies and aviation electronics. He has a cab that is 1. 27 metres high - 1. 42 metres broad and 3. It is 76 metres long and similar in scale to today's premier piston-powered twin-engine airplane - but it is twice as fast - and connects towns at distances of 2,000 kilometres.

With the $2.15 million Eclipse currently out of production - Eclipse Aerospace is reselling like reconditioned aircraft - and the business is working to resume production of the smallest twin-engine certificated jet. The Phenom 100Embraer has developed its Phenom 100 to provide excellent entry-level performance, value and efficiencies.

Embraer's smallest and lightweight jet to date - the Phenom 100 - offers space for up to seven people in a 3.35 metre long 1.5 metre high 1 span cab. Fifty-five metres across. The Phenom 300Embraer's Phenom 300 conveniently blends into the light jet segment - and while it divides its cab width and elevation with the Phenom 100 - the Phenom 300 extends to 5.23 metres in length.

Fly at greater altitudes and speeds than the Phenom 100 - the 300 can reach about 3-650km. The Hawker 200Hawker Beechcraft is offering two Light Jet series. Hawker 200 is one of those planes. Previously the Premier II- the Hawker 200 features a roomy cab with a length of 1.65 metres, a width of 1.68 metres and a length of almost 4.2 metres (larger than many of his contemporaries).

The Hawker 400XPA's latest refurbishment of the passenger compartment made the Hawker 400XP cab more spacious - and today boasts a 1.45 metre high - 1.5 metre high - and more than 4.7 metres long. Costing 7,775 million dollars, this jet provides a max cruising distance of over 2-700km. Already the layout of the jet power unit in the airplane is beneficial for the cab ine length measurements, which, with a length of 5.43 metres, are 1.51 metres high and 1.52 metres broad, providing room for a solo pilots and up to five people.

The PiperJet Altaire is a single-engine, single-pilot PiperJet Altaire designed to appeal to those who want to climb from single-engine reciprocating or turbo-prop airplanes. The Altair has recently been given a new cab interior with five seats - in additional to the pilot - and now features a 1st class cockpit. Four metres high and wide and almost 5.4 metres long.

Piper also promised a max reach of more than 2-400 kilometres and a cost of less than 2.5 million dollars. The points in chart A - which represent the Entry Level and Jet Prices Index - refer to the same plane presented in our report on the previous pages.

Price indexing needs further debate as the underlying assumptions may be somewhat random. Aeroplanes are indicated on our map as multiples of three factors: Full load capacity and available refuel reach; 2. long-range cruising speeds to reach this reach; 3. available passenger and facility cabins.

In our reviews, the presented samples are limited to the airplane. Calculating a fitting of curves on this chart would not be very tight, but if all corporate jets were taken into account, the square root "r" would correspond to a figure above 0.9. Note that different potential corporate jet purchasers may index aeroplanes on the strength of several different factors, according to the essence of the corporate jet missions condition.

As an example of an effective method of indexing airplanes, we have used price-range - speed and cabin size - but other priorities are equally applicable. However, as some planes are under development for inspection - and therefore with unverified price, speed or cabin size numbers - we could not map these planes.

Diagram B- shows a short overview of the cabins volume for all aircrafts in our test. It should be noted that the Entry Level and Light Jet categories are broad and the planes within the categories perform a variety of mission tasks. Therefore, the differences in sizes between the biggest and smallest cabins in this area are not surprising.

important key statistics - entry level & light jets at a glance Below is a listing of entry levels and lights that are currently available from manufacturers or will be available in the near term. BOMBER AERO & SPACE: CESSNA AIRPLANE: CIRRUS AIRPLANE: DIAMOND AIRPLANE: ECLIPSE AEROSPACE INC: EMBRAER AIRPLANE: HAWKER BEECHCRAFT: HONDA AIRPLANE: PIPER AIRPLANE: