Netjets and the G150

[Heavy Set]

I picked up this month's Flying Mag at an FBO today and I found a great article about the new G150 - basically a wider and better designed Astra. Good article - looks like a great cabin (more than a foot wider than the narrow Astra) and a well-equipped flight deck (Pro Line 21 - same as the Challenger 300).

It was my understanding that NJA had ordered a bunch of these. Any idea on how many G150s ordered and when they are slated to arrive?

Add to those the Hawker Horizon (when is that estimated to arrive?) XLS, 800XP-Cs and more Sovereigns and NJA will have quite a few new aircraft arriving over the next few years to replace the older Ultras/Encores, Excels, Hawker 1000s and Xs... That article certainly paints a good picture of the G150 - should be a nice aircraft to fly (and the passengers should appreciate the wide cabin).

 

[be-400xpdriver]

It is 50 orders with 50 options with the G-150 and Horizon.

 

[Hogprint]

3rd quarter 06 is expected delivery. Some fleets have met delivery, some have not.

 

[Guitar Guy]

I went through the G150 cabin mockup in PTK a few months ago. It does look nice on the inside but what really shocked me was the quoted takeoff performance. If I recall correctly, the takeoff field length requirement at sea level, ISA was 5700 ft. That's awful, in my opinion. But then again, it will limit the G150 from going to a bunch of little runways. And if the performance is that bad at sea level, it doesn't take much imagination to guess what happens at ASE, EGE, TEX, etc.

Still, I think I'd like to fly the Horizon and the G150 someday.

By the way, this month's issue of "Aviation International News" has some progress reports on the Horizon and the G150, including initial delivery or certification dates. There is also mention of NetJets' orders for both planes. Check it out.

 

[Just Peachy]

G150 and Horiz dates...

Boister announced 3 days ago at my annual ground recurrent , up to 6 G150s delivered next year late and had no idea about the Horizon except we will get one for evaluation sometime '06 ...

 

[Heavy Set]

Citation XLS

Another add-on question for the NJA pilots - what proportion of your Excel fleet is the "XLS" version and how many more do you have on order/option? Someone told me that NJA had ordered the upgraded version and started to get deliveries. Anyone fly the XLS - how does it compare to the regular Excel?

 

[XTW]

There is no more plain jane XL. The only one that is being produced is the XLS. So, if it's new, it's an XLS.

X

 

[yosemite]

Xl / Xls

We have around 65 XL's of the 70 or so birds on the property right now. As someone else said, no more XL's are being built by the factory... all XLS's now. We are supposed to take a total of 105 aircraft I believe so my guess is we end up with just over 30 XLS's.

The XLS is very similar outside. Slightly better performance so some of the memorized numbers are a bit different. Interior is MUCH nicer with rolled edges and rounded/softer looking hardware. Fit and finish is much nicer.

The biggest change is the Avionics suite. Totally new PFD, MFD, RMU and Annunciator/Mode Selector setups. PFD's are larger, have the softer, easier to look at graphics you see in the Soverign and new g-wiz birds, more data like AOA is presented. MFD is now menu driven with center console toggle and allows the placement of TCAS within the plan view instead of in a separate box below.

Transition wasn't too hard. An hour of ground school at Flight Safety, an hour of review in the airplane, and then 10 hours of IOE with an instructor over several days.

 

[NJAowner]

Xls

I had 2 flights ont he XLS this summer. The interior is better and more comfortable than the XL. No a huge change, but notcieable. I can not speak about the cockpit.

FLy safe.

 

[Heavy Set]

What percentage of NJA pilots who fly the regular Excel are also trained on the XLS? I have met a few Excel guys who were not checked out on the XLS yet? I suspect that all Excel pilots will ultimately be trained on both for flexibility.