King Of Speed: Bombardier's New Thunder

 

          In the latest news to come in the Canadian aviation community Bombardier unveiled its newest aircraft design, the Global 8000. I first learned about the new aircraft yesterday evening, and upon further research and reading the Bombardier press release itself, this newest jet to hold the Global name is an absolutely impressive aircraft and may just be geared up to become the first fastest civilian aircraft since the Concorde.

          As stated by Bombardier, the Global 8000 is capable of trans-sonic flight with a top speed of mach 0.94. It also boasts an impressive range of 8,000 nautical miles, the furthest range ever for a business jet making the longest hauls possible without a stop to refuel. Bombardier also stated in its press release that the Global 8000 features a flex wing tailored for performance and ride comfort at all speeds, next generation fly-by-wire technology which they call the Bombardier Vision, which provides maximum comfort and control in the flight deck and blends it with top-tier avionics, and the healthiest possible cabin with a system the company is calling Pur Air, boasting HEPA filter technology. The cabin also features a soleil circadian lighting system, and nuage seats that provide lowet back pressure compared to current seats and offer a zero-gravity position for again, maximum comfort. Passenger capacity is also 19, so no friend or business partner is left in the dust. The engines powering the 8000 will be the newest version of tge General Electric Passport, a pair mounted towards the year just like previous modeos in Bombardier's Global line of business jets. Deliveries are expected to commence in 2025 with a pricetag of over 68 million dollars- so have deep pockets!

          This isn't the first time a near supersonic aircraft has hit the market, or at least attempted to. Convair released an airliner in the early 1960s called the Convair 990 that attempted to capture trans-sonic flight, but due to technology limitations at the time failed to achieve the desired speed. It's now 2022, and it seems technology certainly has improved and near-supersonic speed is now indeed possible in an efficient package. 

          What we can take away from the Global 8000 is a few things. First and foremost, this aircraft is all about blending speed with luxury just like a European supercar. Second point we can take away is that Canada, specifically Bombardier is currently the world leader in business jet design, grabbing headlines the world over with not only announcing that they're building the 8000, but the Global 7500 test vehicle for the project already broke the sound barrier last year in May, achieving a speed of mach 1.015. The third and final point I've taken away from this unveiling is that my previous articles on the Canadian aviation industry still being alive and stronger than ever after the downfall of Avro Canada has been vindicated- when we want to be industry leaders, we certainly can be. It certainly appears that the return of supersonic transports in the civilian aviation market will be ushered in by none other than the maple leaf, something I in particular feel pride about.