Bombardier launches ultra-long-range Global 8000 with supersonic test campaign

Bombardier has given a supersonic start to the launch of its long-promised 8,000nm (14,800km)-range Global 8000 – flying a test aircraft beyond the speed of sound as part of its certification campaign. In addition to the huge range, the new jet will have a maximum speed of Mach 0.94 and be capable of carrying 19 passengers. Service entry is scheduled for 2025. But there’s a twist: it’s not the aircraft the Canadian airframer envisaged at the start of the programme. Back when Bombardier first touted the ultra-long-range twinjet, it was planned as a 2.6m (8.5ft) shrink of its 33.8m-long Global 7000 sister which was capable of flying 500nm further, hitting the 7,900nm mark. However, while the 7,000nm progressed, eventually morphing into the 7,700nm-range Global 7500, the 8000 remained stuck on the drawing board. In the meantime the market has changed, in particular with Gulfstream’s launch earlier this year of its 8,000nm-range G800, which is due to arrive in 2023. Bombardier needed a response, but in its view, building a jet that could fly only 200nm more at the expense of cabin volume, or two passenger seats, was not the right approach. Instead, it has taken a radical – albeit lower-cost – step: rather than developing an all-new jet it has instead souped up the performance of the Global 7500 to create an aircraft that can fly 8,000nm and up to 1.3% faster than the current M0.925 maximum.<br/>