wrxpilot
New Member
I finally got to attend the NBAA convention this year! Due to our work schedule, we were only able to see the show on Thursday, which was initially a little concerning since things starting winding down on the last day. Regardless, I was not disappointed!
After airlining into ATL around 9 am with my boss (Chief Pilot), we decided to drive up to PDK and see the static display first, and then head downtown for the convention hall. Parking near PDK was fairly painless, with a relatively quick shuttle to the main displays. We started with the Gulfstream area first, and jumped into a G150. Being Proline 21 drivers, we were immediately familiar with the G150 avionics. I definitely felt some "big" airplane envy and wish we were in the market for something bigger than our CJ3!
Next, we made our way to Cessna to examine the CJ4. Immediately noticeable on the newest CJ is the electric windshield heat. It actually gives the airplane an edgier look, adding to that all important ramp presence. Compared to the CJ3, the new wing has a much thicker chord, and the sweep is very noticeable. My boss said it best, stating it essentially looks like a scaled Sovereign wing. The aft baggage area remains cavernous, and the single point refueling station made me envious.
Inside, the cabin of the CJ4 seems considerably lighter than our CJ3. I think there are a couple of reasons for this, including a lighter interior and warm LED lighting. The cabin also felt wider, likely due to the re-designed passenger seats.
Up front, the cockpit layout is much, much improved over the CJ3. The four tubes display an amazing amount of information, and the switchology had me drooling! I've always disliked how Cessna laid out the switches in the other CJs (and 500 series Citations in general). In these older cockpits, it is all too easy to forget about anti-ice positions and so on. The CJ4 addresses this by replacing old school toggle switches with modern, LED light "on" push buttons in ergonomic locations. Gone also are the old fashioned trim wheels, replaced with electric trims for all three axes, with trim (and flap) position indicators on the MFD. I'm still not sure how the electric windshield heat is operated, as it did not have a button on the icing panel. The new autopilot is also a very welcome addition, finally relocated up on the glareshield with a modern, conventional layout. I'm actually amazed that I'm type rated for this airplane!
Next, we moved onto the Embraer section to examine the Phenom 300. The first thing you notice with the Phenom - it’s a BIG airplane for what it is. It seems much larger than the CJ4, and the airstairs give it an elegant, more sophisticated look. The aft baggage space is ridiculously huge, but I noticed it was placarded with a 460 lb limit. This is 140 lb less than our CJ3 600 lb limit, which I believe the CJ4 shares. Although it doesn't happen often, there have certainly been times where we needed that 600 lb utilization. Unfortunately, we were unable to examine the lav due to people in the cabin. But the external serviceability is a big plus over the CJ! Finally, the acquisition cost for the Embraer is almost $1 million less than the CJ4's $9 million dollar asking price. No doubt Cessna will face a tough fight against this new Embraer.
We moved on to the Bombardier area next, and examined the Learjet 85, 60, and 45. I’m totally unfamiliar with Learjets, so it was pretty neat to finally jump inside a couple of different models. The 85 looks like a great airplane, and the cockpit was nicely laid out. The cabin was very comfortable, and will no doubt become a passenger favorite. When I jumped up front in the 45, I was really surprised how small it is up there! It actually makes the CJ3 feel big. Before leaving the Bombardier area, we jumped into the Global 5000 for a quick tour.
Moving on, we headed over to the Falcons. Previously I’d only been inside the F2000, so I was curious to see what some of these tri-jet Falcons looked like. We were able to tour the 7X and 900, which were just amazing machines. The range on equipment like this is just mind boggling to a lowly Citation pilot such as myself!
One of the major highlights of the display was undoubtedly the mockup of Citation’s remake of the X, dubbed the “10”. Amazingly, the mockup included the proposed new flightdeck, with functional G5000 avionics. Yes, the touchscreens worked and everything!! Of course, there was a limit to the functionality, but I was amazed at how much was there. One could create flight plans, manipulate the MFD, tune radios, navigate screens, etc. There were four touchscreens, including two under the MFD and one to the side of each pilot station. The MFD touchscreens controlled map functions, wx, flight planning, charts, performance, calcs, etc. The pilot station touchscreens control nav source, refs/speed bugs, minimums, timers, PFD settings, audio control panel settings, etc. Even though this system is in the preliminary stages, it is very slick and looks like it’s going to be an amazing new piece of technology.
Before leaving, we examined both the TBM 850 and its upstart competitor, the Kestrel. It will be very interesting to watch the progress of Kestrel, they seem to have a very nice product, and it is an absolutely gorgeous airframe.
There was still much, much more to see, but we had to rush over to the Exhibit hall 20 mins away in downtown before that started winding down. We arrived with about 3.5 hours before closing, and we needed every minute of it to make even the most basic of rounds throughout the various exhibitors. One of the first stops was at Jeppesen, where we discussed their iPad app and what they saw coming down the line. They are fully committed to bringing the rest of their IFR charting products into the Jepp app ASAP, and are looking at sometime early next year for enroute charts. They also gave us a couple of great tips about using the iPad at night, in particular how to cut the excessive brightness down until Apple resolves the issue (hopefully) with the new OS release in November.
EVAS (Emergency Vision Assurance System) had an excellent demo for their product. They brought a basic cockpit mockup that was incased in a Plexiglas chamber. They provide you with a gas mask/goggle type deal, and after climbing into the camber they pump in a non-toxic type of smoke. Once your vision is obstructed inside the chamber, you look through the EVAS system and have a perfectly clear view of your instruments and outside the windscreen. Look away from EVAS, and it is zero visibility. It was really amazing, and even a little disturbing to be honest. It really demonstrated how well their product works, and made a believer out of me. With the UPS crash, they said they’ve been very busy lately. I can certainly see why.
I could go on an on about everything else we saw… It was just an incredible amount of information, almost to the point of overload when trying to do it in one day. At least two days are required to do it right, and maybe three if you plan on hitting some of the cool after parties! I don’t think we’ll be able to make the one next year in Vegas, but I certainly plan to attend again within the next two years. It certainly is exciting to see what corporate aviation has for the future; it should be an interesting next few years!
After airlining into ATL around 9 am with my boss (Chief Pilot), we decided to drive up to PDK and see the static display first, and then head downtown for the convention hall. Parking near PDK was fairly painless, with a relatively quick shuttle to the main displays. We started with the Gulfstream area first, and jumped into a G150. Being Proline 21 drivers, we were immediately familiar with the G150 avionics. I definitely felt some "big" airplane envy and wish we were in the market for something bigger than our CJ3!
Next, we made our way to Cessna to examine the CJ4. Immediately noticeable on the newest CJ is the electric windshield heat. It actually gives the airplane an edgier look, adding to that all important ramp presence. Compared to the CJ3, the new wing has a much thicker chord, and the sweep is very noticeable. My boss said it best, stating it essentially looks like a scaled Sovereign wing. The aft baggage area remains cavernous, and the single point refueling station made me envious.
Inside, the cabin of the CJ4 seems considerably lighter than our CJ3. I think there are a couple of reasons for this, including a lighter interior and warm LED lighting. The cabin also felt wider, likely due to the re-designed passenger seats.
Up front, the cockpit layout is much, much improved over the CJ3. The four tubes display an amazing amount of information, and the switchology had me drooling! I've always disliked how Cessna laid out the switches in the other CJs (and 500 series Citations in general). In these older cockpits, it is all too easy to forget about anti-ice positions and so on. The CJ4 addresses this by replacing old school toggle switches with modern, LED light "on" push buttons in ergonomic locations. Gone also are the old fashioned trim wheels, replaced with electric trims for all three axes, with trim (and flap) position indicators on the MFD. I'm still not sure how the electric windshield heat is operated, as it did not have a button on the icing panel. The new autopilot is also a very welcome addition, finally relocated up on the glareshield with a modern, conventional layout. I'm actually amazed that I'm type rated for this airplane!
Next, we moved onto the Embraer section to examine the Phenom 300. The first thing you notice with the Phenom - it’s a BIG airplane for what it is. It seems much larger than the CJ4, and the airstairs give it an elegant, more sophisticated look. The aft baggage space is ridiculously huge, but I noticed it was placarded with a 460 lb limit. This is 140 lb less than our CJ3 600 lb limit, which I believe the CJ4 shares. Although it doesn't happen often, there have certainly been times where we needed that 600 lb utilization. Unfortunately, we were unable to examine the lav due to people in the cabin. But the external serviceability is a big plus over the CJ! Finally, the acquisition cost for the Embraer is almost $1 million less than the CJ4's $9 million dollar asking price. No doubt Cessna will face a tough fight against this new Embraer.
We moved on to the Bombardier area next, and examined the Learjet 85, 60, and 45. I’m totally unfamiliar with Learjets, so it was pretty neat to finally jump inside a couple of different models. The 85 looks like a great airplane, and the cockpit was nicely laid out. The cabin was very comfortable, and will no doubt become a passenger favorite. When I jumped up front in the 45, I was really surprised how small it is up there! It actually makes the CJ3 feel big. Before leaving the Bombardier area, we jumped into the Global 5000 for a quick tour.
Moving on, we headed over to the Falcons. Previously I’d only been inside the F2000, so I was curious to see what some of these tri-jet Falcons looked like. We were able to tour the 7X and 900, which were just amazing machines. The range on equipment like this is just mind boggling to a lowly Citation pilot such as myself!
One of the major highlights of the display was undoubtedly the mockup of Citation’s remake of the X, dubbed the “10”. Amazingly, the mockup included the proposed new flightdeck, with functional G5000 avionics. Yes, the touchscreens worked and everything!! Of course, there was a limit to the functionality, but I was amazed at how much was there. One could create flight plans, manipulate the MFD, tune radios, navigate screens, etc. There were four touchscreens, including two under the MFD and one to the side of each pilot station. The MFD touchscreens controlled map functions, wx, flight planning, charts, performance, calcs, etc. The pilot station touchscreens control nav source, refs/speed bugs, minimums, timers, PFD settings, audio control panel settings, etc. Even though this system is in the preliminary stages, it is very slick and looks like it’s going to be an amazing new piece of technology.
Before leaving, we examined both the TBM 850 and its upstart competitor, the Kestrel. It will be very interesting to watch the progress of Kestrel, they seem to have a very nice product, and it is an absolutely gorgeous airframe.
There was still much, much more to see, but we had to rush over to the Exhibit hall 20 mins away in downtown before that started winding down. We arrived with about 3.5 hours before closing, and we needed every minute of it to make even the most basic of rounds throughout the various exhibitors. One of the first stops was at Jeppesen, where we discussed their iPad app and what they saw coming down the line. They are fully committed to bringing the rest of their IFR charting products into the Jepp app ASAP, and are looking at sometime early next year for enroute charts. They also gave us a couple of great tips about using the iPad at night, in particular how to cut the excessive brightness down until Apple resolves the issue (hopefully) with the new OS release in November.
EVAS (Emergency Vision Assurance System) had an excellent demo for their product. They brought a basic cockpit mockup that was incased in a Plexiglas chamber. They provide you with a gas mask/goggle type deal, and after climbing into the camber they pump in a non-toxic type of smoke. Once your vision is obstructed inside the chamber, you look through the EVAS system and have a perfectly clear view of your instruments and outside the windscreen. Look away from EVAS, and it is zero visibility. It was really amazing, and even a little disturbing to be honest. It really demonstrated how well their product works, and made a believer out of me. With the UPS crash, they said they’ve been very busy lately. I can certainly see why.
I could go on an on about everything else we saw… It was just an incredible amount of information, almost to the point of overload when trying to do it in one day. At least two days are required to do it right, and maybe three if you plan on hitting some of the cool after parties! I don’t think we’ll be able to make the one next year in Vegas, but I certainly plan to attend again within the next two years. It certainly is exciting to see what corporate aviation has for the future; it should be an interesting next few years!
