The world’s seven smallest business jets
Like sports cars of the sky, these aircraft are speedy and stylish — but not necessarily spacious.
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Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to business jets – not if you don’t need the cabin space or range of a larger aircraft and you want to save money on the purchase price and operating costs.
Indeed, the future may well belong to the diminutive of wingspan and fuselage.
Compact Cruiser
The Flaris LAR 1 is a single-pilot, four-passenger jet being developed in Poland. It’s billed as “the world’s smallest business jet.”
If we’re talking about length, then the LAR 1, with a fuselage that is just eight metres long, will indeed be able to claim that distinction when (or if) it enters service. At just over two metres, the LAR 1 may also be the most vertically challenged business jet, and it has a wingspan of just over eight metres.
Furthermore, the wings are detachable, enabling you to store the aircraft in a home garage instead of a hangar and to haul it to an airport or landing strip on a trailer.
Cirrus Aircraft’s Vision Jet
The only Federal Aviation Administration–certified single-engine jet, the Cirrus Vision Jet entered service at the end of 2016, a decade after it was announced.
In 2017, it won the Robert J. Collier Trophy as that year’s “greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America.” The Vision Jet is just under nine metres long, making it at least three metres shorter than any other business jet in service.
Its wingspan is just over 11 metres, and it stands just under four metres tall. The aircraft has a maximum cruising speed of 555km/h and can fly nonstop for nearly 2317km when traveling at 444km/h.
Stratos 714 jet
The prototype Stratos 714, which made its first flight in 2016, is just over 10 metres long, but the version that may eventually go into service will be slightly longer. In May, Stratos Aircraft – which has been developing the 714 since at least 2008 – announced it was going to make the aircraft’s cabin roomier by adding 78cm to the length of the fuselage.
It also plans to rename the plane. In its current form, according to the company, the 714 has a maximum cruising speed of 740km/h and a maximum range of 2777 metres. Its operating ceiling is 39,000 feet.
EA700 jet
The EA700, the twin-engine, six-seat jet being developed by New Mexico–based One Aviation, retains the nearly 12-metre-long fuselage of the company’s previous model, the Eclipse 550, but it includes an extra one metre of wingspan.
According to the company, the EA700 will have a range of 2592 km and a maximum cruising speed of 709km/h. It will be able to take off from 731 metres of runway and land on 877 metres. At its tallest point, the cabin will be just over one metre, and at its widest point it will be one metre 20 centimetres.
Embraer Phenom 100EV
The Phenom 100EV, Embraer’s popular entry-level business jet, is just over 12 metres long and has a wingspan of just over 12 metres. In its standard configuration, the cabin holds six occupants, including the pilot. The aircraft has a range of 1895 km, and its high cruising speed is 740km/h, and it can operate at an altitude of 41,000 feet.
Cessna Citation M2
With the Mustang out of production, the Citation M2 is now Cessna’s entry-level jet. It is just over 14 metres long, and nearly four metres tall, and has a wingspan of just over 14 metres. As many as seven passengers can fit in the M2’s cabin. The M2 has a range of 2871 km (the longest in our roundup) and a maximum cruising speed of 748km/h.
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