BOMBARDIER GLOBAL 6000 - SMOOTH OPERATOR

The market for large business jets in Africa is fiercely contested. Bombardier has done particularly well in this tough environment with its Global 6000. We look at its features - and what its operators like, and dislike, about it.

- Guy Leitch

FOR AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS and private sector operators, given the long distances and lack of intra-African air connectivity, business jets have an invaluable role.

The original Global Express with its range of 5,400 nautical miles came, along with the big Gulfstream jets, to epitomise long-range, large-cabin business aircraft. The type has evolved over time: Global Express, to Global Express XRS, to Global 6000, to Global 6500.

The subject of our flight test is a Global Express, ZS-SMF constructor's number 9074 built in 2000 and delivered to South Africa in 2021. This aircraft benefitted from a full factory refurbishment before its delivery to South Africa.

The aircraft was built as a baseline Global Express and is now operated by United Air Charters on behalf of its owner, Sam Matakekane, a Lesotho/SA businessman.

Development

Canada's Bombardier acquired Canadair, with its Challenger 600 business jet, in 1986. Using the Challenger 600 series as a starting point, Bombardier proposed a long-range business aircraft to carry eight passengers and four crew over 12,000 km (6,500 nm) at Mach 0.85. To meet this goal a team was established at the company's Montreal facility in the early 1990s. By 1994, this team had grown to 200 engineers, evenly divided between Canadair and various partners, including Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Anglo-German engine manufacturer BMW Rolls-Royce.

The final product was the Global Express, which first flew on 13 October 1996, received its Canadian type certification on 31 July 1998 and entered service in July 1999.