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The current status of the first Cessna Sovereign Model 680 prototype, which made its first flight in February, 2002, is discussed along with development plans for the business jet. Structural and system changes, performance expectations, the comfortable cabin and possible market for the plane are included.

The author examine the development of Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.'s electronic display system for aeronautical charts and updates. Topics include government standards, joint venture development with Northstar Technologies, and model design and testing.

The author evaluates Garrett Aviation Services' upgrades to the original Dassautt design of the Falcon 20-seat business jet. Topics include most liked, least like features as rated by pilots, purchase and maintenance costs, and design comfort.

This article discusses the development of the Gulfstream V-SP. Gulfstream officials are confident that when the aircraft reaches customers in mid-2003, it will have a maximum range of 6,750 nautical miles at 0.80Mach and tanks-ful payload of 1,600 to 18,00 pounds.

The article discusses the facts and myths about high-altitude aerodynamics and also defines 'coffin corner,' the top of a theoretical flight envelope.

The article discusses the Cessna Citation Excel, which operators are giving high marks to. Some of the features operators like include cockpit comfort, 'cavernous' baggage volume, short field takeoff and climb performance, systems reliability, and ease of handling.

Germany's Fairchild Dornier has introduced its new short-haul business jet, the Envoy 3 Corporate Shuttle. The $13.5 million Envoy 3, which is designed for small airports, offers fuel efficiency and luxurious cabin facilities.

This article gives an evaluation of the Premier I, business jet from Raytheon Aircraft. The author concludes that the aircraft has no match in the entry-level market for cabin comfort and cruise speed.

Empresa Braziliera de Aeronautica S.A. (Embraer) will enter the big-cabin business with its Legacy business jet by year's end.

The Piaggio P180 Avanti entered service in 1990 and continues to attract attention with its unconventional design.

The aircraft of choice to buy as a used light business jet is the 1978 Citation 550-0027.

Boeing officials are reporting that the Boeing Business Jet orders total 71 and will top 100 orders by early 2002.

Business aircraft sales increased in 2000, while back orders for new planes will keep the market steady in 2001. The article also offers detailed information on available aircraft.

This article discusses the dangers associated with circling approaches in landing aircraft. The author gives advice on procedures to insure safety. Graphs are included.

This article discusses Honeywell's retrofit program for Falcon 50 B aircraft. The company is offering a limited package with a price of about $5.2 million.

Business aircraft manufacturer Gulstream Aerospace Corp., unveils a Web site for design of Planeview, its flight control systems' display. The web site is secure, shows the large graphics and enlists the help of its pilots to design the new avionics system.

French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation S.A., introduces EASy, a new line of aircraft navigation systems and displays.

Corporate jet manufacturer Cessna Aircraft Company Inc., unveils new Citation CJ2. The new Cessna, is a top performer, has more speed, range and high cruise altitude, seats four passengers comfortably, vast improvement on the Citation 500 models. Cessna CJ2 costs $4.5 million

The FAA reached its goal of implementing 500 new instrument approach procedures (IAPs) annually, once the Global Positioning System became operational. The summer of 2000 showed a total of 2,900 new IAPs. But the assessment and approval process has been lengthy for many.

In early 2000, Honeywell and United Airlines displayed a proof-of-concept, data-link weather system. Aviation data-link service providers have since been intensifying their marketing campaigns on the technology available now, and in the near future.

Galaxy Aerospace Corp. and Israel Aircraft Industries' Galaxy aircraft was designed to be a large-cabin, intercontinental range aircraft with the price range of a midsize aircraft.

Universal Avionics Systems spends 6 months testing its new Terrain Awareness and Warning System before receiving FAA certification.

The need of the corporate world for fast paced travel will likely result in the operation of supersonic jets for business travelers during the 21st century.

The performance of the Gulfstream IVSP is reviewed by over 40 operators of the aircraft.

This article discusses the Federal Aviation Regulations Part125 certificate which business must receive in order to operate airliners as business aircraft. There is also a deviation authorization for for such aircraft that will be used by the owner of one operator.

This article discusses Global Positioning System non-precision approaches and the training needed to make use of them. The author presents graphs of the GPS approach decision tree.

This article discussed the training provided to pilots by the Veridian Flight Research Group (a.k.a. Calspan). Pilots are trained in overcoming control problems resulting form wake turbulence and ice contamination.

NASA has selected six teams from private industry that will develop Synthetic Vision Technology (SVS). According to the Langley Research Center, this is a display system which will provide visual information to a flight crew independent of outside weather and lighting conditions.

Business aircraft have longer lives than type accounting practices use for depreciation. If the depreciation is too much too soon, expenses increase and prices increase.

This article surveys users for their opinions of the positive and negative characteristics of the Cessna Citation X aircraft.

Learjet 45 is receiving a sixpack of Performance ENhancement Package, or PEP for short, six and a half years after the program was launched in a move that will help it meet established goals. The features are: better stopping performance; lower V2 one-engine inoperative takeoff safety speeds; lower VMCG minimum control (ground) speeds; better FAR Part 25 approach climb performance using eight degree flaps; a 300-pound increase in MTOW and full thrust-reverser functionality. Article provides side bar with configuration sketches of dimensions, a specifications table and graphs showing time and fuel vs distance, specific range and range/payload profile of its performance.

Gulfstream Aerospace is being spurred by strong competition from Bombardier along with pressure from Airbus and Boeing to make improvements, refinements and upgrades to its G-V. Some of those upgrades include broadening the c.g. envelope at a much quicker rate than what it did with the G-IV as well as reducing weight. This has created its newest large-cabin business jet. Article discusses the G-V in great detail highlight some of the aspects of the structure and systems, cabin amenities, flying impressions and price versus value. Also, there are several photographs showing the inside of the cabin. A sidebar has three graphs, intended to be used together to give a broad view of G-V's performance by looking at its time and fuel vs distance statistics, the aircraft's specific range and finally it's range/payload profile which gives rough simulations of trips under different payload and airport payload density attitude conditions.

The high performance characteristics of corporate jets often causes undesirable transonic airflow effects which can increase drag and impeed handling characteristics. The complete redesign of wings to prevent such effects are often too costly and time-consuming to embark on so patches and fixes have been implemented at a much lower cost. Fixes such as the addition of a supercritical airfoil or leading edge modification can even pressure distribution and reduce drag. The article includes details on the physics of transonic flow patterns.

The Garmin GNS430 is a global positioning system scheduled for certification for light aircraft by 1999. The device is the first to offer an integrated global positioning system, communication device, and navigational aid in one package. The GNS430 features a a 12-channel, parallel tracking GPS engine, a TSO C129 A1 IFR non precision approach GPS, a moving map, a TSOed 10-watt VHF com transceiver, and Europspec channel spacing.

Raytheon Aircraft has completed development on its new Premier I RB-1 jet plane after some 51 months of planning and testing. The extensively reworked Premier 1, which is scheduled for certification by autumn 1999, is different in many aspects from its 1995 forerunner. The RB-1 will have a $4,300,000 price tag, some $150,000 more than the RA-390. The new model will have a 225 square foot wing area, a wing fuel capacity of 3,365 pounds, and a new thermal ice protection system.

Aerodynamicists have to resort to a variety of implements and remedies to compensate for imperfections in wing designs of airplanes which determine flight performance, stability, and control. Different types of wings, such as thick, thin, or swept have varying stall characteristics. Engineers use aerodynamic 'adhesive bandages' such as Boundary Layer Energizers, leading edge triangles, vortilons, stall strips, and different angles of attack to improve handling.

Head-up displays or HUD in business aircraft can make flying much easier for pilots in comparison to using traditional instrumentation. HUDs, which feature flight path vectors which show trajectory, lateral track, and glidepath guidance, negate the need for constant glances at flight instruments. Operators seeking approval from the FAA for Category I approaches must devise the necessary training and maintenance programs to qualify for certification.

Airbus Industrie plans to retrofit its A320 aircraft with new equipment and market it as the A319CJ to compete with other long range planes such as the Boeing Business Jet and Gulfstream V. The aircraft features fly-by-wire (FBW), throttle-by-wire (TBW), and Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitoring display systems. TBW controls thrust but can be overridden at the pilot's discretion. FBW includes an automatic roll damping system which adjusts for turbulence and thermal currents to ensure a smooth ride for passengers.

The Fairchild Aerospace Envoy 3 is a comfortable plane featuring heavy-iron comfort, midsize budget operating costs, and light jet airport performance capabilities. The aircraft's long range cruise is set at 330 with high speed cruise at 400. Maximum fuel load range is 1,832 nautical miles and the ceiling is set at 35,000 feet. The Envoy sells for $13 million and seats 12 passengers.

Israel Aircraft Industries' twin-engine 1126 Galaxy jet plane is the firm's latest product after the successful Astra SPX. The test versions of the aircraft feature a five-tube Collins Pro Line 4 avionics package, PW306A turbofans, inboard leading-edge Krueger flaps, and four panel ground spoilers per wing. Initial tests reveal very favorable aerodynamics, a 250 pph fuel flow at idle, and better landing capabilities than its predecessor.

Global positioning systems (GPS), which were thought to be the last word in aircraft navigation systems, is still susceptible to low power jamming by terrorists and other signal interference. GPS will not become a sole-means navigation system in the foreseeable future and instead will be used in conjunction with other systems such as the Wide Area Augmentation System, the Local Area Augmentation System, and instrument landing systems.

A survey of Falcon 2000 operators and owners reveals that the aircraft boasts excellent handling, good short-field performance, more than adequate cruise thrust and good fuel efficiency. Operators do have complaints which include frequent false alarms from fault monitoring systems, poor exhaust flows from thrust reversers that result in tail shudders, hydraulic system quirks, poor engineering support among others.

Private and corporate flyers can avail of affordable avionics upgrades that can boost safety, utility and reliability of old aircraft. There are affordable approach capable GPS systems, approach-approved panel-mounted GPS units, CNI radios, map graphics, collision avoidance systems and weather avoidance systems. Reputable makers include AlliedSignal, Garmin, Northstar, Trimble, Morrow, Honeywell, Eventide and Argus among others.

Avcon Industries' has come up with its R/X modification that can provide a partial solution to Learjet 35 and 36 larger-cabin and longer-range dilemma, respectively. Learjet 36's larger fuselage capacity reduced its cabin volume while learjet 35 had a larger cabin volume but owners of the aircraft wanted it to have a longer range. Avcon's R/X modification, which includes dual, ventral, anhedral stabilizing fins to the tail, increases either model's fuel capacity by 750 pounds.

The prime function of the winglets is to reduce wingtip vortices that increase the drag on the aircraft. This is more evident when a three-dimensional flow is considered on the wingtip, wherein airflow over the wingtip tends to spiral back onto the wing that increases the downward pressure on the wingtip. Winglets tend to diffuse the vortices, enabling a smoother flow of air on the wingtip. One of the latest winglet design is the spiroid technology, wherein a winglet shaped like a loop is attached to the wingtip.

A survey of Pilatus PC-12 aircraft operators reveals that the aircraft possesses both good and bad points. Good points include cabin volume and low noise level, range and payload performance, low-speed handling and short-field performance, modern systems, avionics as well as instrumentation and ease of maintenance. Bad points include shortage of parts, climate control, stall and spin protection systems, avionics reliability among others.

Ice-contaminated-tailplane stall (ICTS) should not be mistaken for wing stall as using the same recovery techniques can aggravate the situation. ICTS management techniques are the opposite of wing stall recovery techniques. Major considerations in ICTS include watching out for elevator buffeting, control force reduction and reversal. Many people have died from ICTS because of mistakes.

Next generation business aircrafts will be using advanced technologies that allow pilots to better manage flight control-human interface. Companies involved in developing these technologies include Honeywell, Sextant Avionique and Rockwell-Collins. The developments include cursor control devices, three dimensional displays, datalinks and databases among others that will feature high-resolution maps, hot button icons and graphic system synoptics that actually control systems rather than just monitor them.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the use of SLS-2000 satellite landing system at the Minneapolis Airport Commission on August 7, 1997. The system, which was manufactured by Honeywell and Pelorus, is the first precision global positioning satellite system (GPS) certified for commercial use. The $300,000 system will facilitate the transition of avionics towards Local Area Augmentation System GPS standards of the FAA. In conjunction with the system upgrade, airlines such as Continental and Northwest will install Special-use category I Local Area Differential GPS systems on some of their aircraft.

VisionAire has successfully tested a prototype version of its Vantage aircraft, which will be positioned as an affordable but functional plane for business travellers. The plane is the result of some seven years of design and planning by the firm's chairman James Rice and experimental airplane designer Burt Rutan. Specifications for the Vantage include a $1.75 million price, a maximum payload of 1,230, a single P and WC JT15D-5 engine, and a maximum cruising speed of about 350 kts.