Flight International - 5 June 2018

SHOW

REPORT

12 | Flight International | 5-11 June 2018 flightglobal.com

For more show coverage, images and

news from EBACE 2018 visit

flightglobal.com/ebace

EBACE 2018

Bombardier’s shock launch of its re-powered Globals and the death as the show began

of industry pioneer Serge Dassault dominated the news agenda at Europe’s business

aviation show, held in Geneva from 29-31 May. Signs of a market recovery lifted the

mood of a sector that has been in the doldrums for a decade. Murdo Morrison, Alan

Peaford, Kerry Reals, Kate Sarsfield and Stephen Trimble report. Images by BillyPix

B

ombardier’s dramatic unveil-

ing of the Global 5500 and

6500 at EBACE profoundly re-

shapes what had seemed like a

frozen competitive landscape in

the market for super-large and

long-range business jets.

Instead of having no answer to

questions about a competitive re-

sponse to the Gulfstream G

and G600, Bombardier now has

two reinvigorated product lines

nearing a first delivery milestone,

even as the Global 7000 – now

Global 7500 – approaches a long-

awaited entry-into-service mile-

stone later this year.

Boasting ranges of 5,700nm

(10,600km) and 6,600nm, respec-

tively, the Global 5500 and 6500

now exceed the promised range

performance of each of their direct

competitors, even after Gulfstream

last October upgraded the range of

the G500 to 6,200nm and the

G600 to 6,500nm. Bombardier has

also set the list price of its re-en-

gined and re-winged models at a

slight premium to Gulfstream’s

clean-sheet aircraft designs, ask-

ing $46 million for the Global

5500 compared with $44.5 mil-

lion for the G500, and $56 million

for the Global 6500 compared

with $55.5 million for the G600.

For now, Bombardier plans to

continue building Global 5000s

and 6000s on a common assem-

bly line with the re-winged and

re-engined models at the compa-

ny’s Downsview factory outside

Toronto. In a five-model portfolio

of options, the 21-year old Global

5000 now offers a less ambitious

stepping-stone for some buyers

transitioning from Bombardier’s

smaller Challenger series of busi-

ness jets, the company says.

By introducing the Global 5500

and 6500 as upgrades, Bombardier

still offers significant performance

improvements while avoiding the

cost and risk of a clean-sheet devel-

opment programme.

The fuel burn for the new air-

craft declines by 13%, while the

top speed increases by two basis

points to Mach 0.90, Bombardier

says. With an additional 1,000lb

of thrust (4.5kN) provided by two

Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 engines, the

Global 5500 and 6500 gain an ad-

ditional 1,300nm of range after

taking off from a high-altitude

PROGRAMME

Bombardier stuns

show and stirs up

long-range sector

Undercover development results in two extended-range

Globals with new Rolls-Royce engines and reshaped wing

airport in a warm climate, such as

the 2,580m-high runway at Tolu-

ca International airport outside

Mexico City, Bombardier says.

The newly certificated R-R en-

gines achieve the rare feat of in-

creasing thrust and reducing fuel

burn, yet fit into the same aerody-

namic installation as the BR.

powerplants they replace. Nei-

ther the aft fuselage-mounted py-

lons and nacelles nor the engine

mounts are altered for the Global

5500 and 6500, despite the addi-

tion of the more powerful and ef-

ficient Pearl 15 engines, Bombar-

dier says. By keeping the

aerodynamic profile unchanged,

Bombardier reduces the impact

of the re-engining on aircraft han-

dling qualities and other certifica-

tion requirements.

The Global 5500 and 6500 jets

will both enter service with rede-

signed wings. The 35° leading-

edge sweep of the original Global

Express is unchanged, but Bom-

bardier’s designers re-profiled the

trailing edge. The change allows

the aircraft to fly slightly faster

than the previous limit of M0.

without a dramatic increase in

drag, it says.

The newly certificated

R-R engines achieve

the rare feat of

increasing thrust and

reducing fuel burn