I have seen this asked many times in forums and in other circles. Many jet owners need not worry too much about the speed unless of course you are in a hurry. Overall, the speed of an aircraft might be one of the criteria for picking what works for your needs, but you have to weigh all factors when purchasing your corporate or business jet. I was reading recently over at the FlightGlobal blog about the new Gulfstream 650 and its recent announcement at the EBACE 2010 event of its latest test of reaching mach .925. The announcement is a great benchmark and something that is a feather in the cap of the folks over at Gulfstream. The info at Flightglobal stated:
On May 2, Gulfstream achieved mach .925, when certified will make the new business jet the world’s fastest civil aircraft. Gulfstream conducted its high speed testing at 42,500 feet and achieved buffet-free banking up to 45 degrees at high speed cruise. The program has accumulated 138hr over 48 flights since its November first flight. The third flight test aircraft is expected to make its first flight in the next week. The company expects to receive its Type Inspection Authorization from the FAA in the fourth quarter of 2010.
The interesting part of the post however, and the post itself was interesting, was not necessarily in the above statement, but more with the comments that occurred on the post itself by the people that read the announcement. They were debating whether the Citation X and the Gulfstream were comparable. This goes along with the idea of having a list of the needs you have when making a decision to buy a corporate jet. Take a moment and read through the comments and see if you agree or disagree with the ideas there. If you had to choose an aircraft what would be your criteria?