Ben Gurion International Airport - On the 95th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight, business aviation marked a major milestone today with FAA certification of the world's first super-midsize business jet. Certification by the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel was granted on December 15, 1998.
Certification of the Galaxy intercontinental business jet comes less than a year after the aircraft's first flight and less than two years after full scale production and certification efforts were launched in February 1997 with the formation of Galaxy Aerospace.
The Galaxy is fully certified for flight in all weather conditions, including known icing. Icing tests were the last certification item to be completed, with a test aircraft concluding a series of tests in natural icing conditions over Northern Europe in early December. All onboard equipment, with the exception of thrust reversers are certified for use. Thrust reverser testing is completed and thrust reverser certification is expected prior to first customer deliveries.
"Today we have reconfirmed our role as a premier designer and builder of state-of-the-art aircraft", said IAI President & CEO Moshe Keret. "This aircraft has been a cherished dream of ours for several years. We envisioned a large-cabin aircraft, with Trans-Atlantic range and the operating cost of midsize jets. We are immensely pleased that the finished product achieves all of the ambitious objectives we has set for it."
The Galaxy delivers intercontinental capability with a four-passenger range of 3,620 nautical miles (6,704 km), the still-air distance from Paris to New York. Range with eight passengers is 3,360 nautical miles (6,223 km) with NBAA IFR reserves.
Maximum payload is 4,800 pounds (2,180 kg). In a corporate shuttle configuration the Galaxy can carry 18 passengers and enough fuel to fly 2,710 nautical miles (5,019 km) with NBAA IFR reserves.
Runway performance has improved from earlier figures, with takeoff distances at maximum takeoff weight decreasing from 6,040 feet to 5,900 feet (6,040 m to 5,900 m).
Hot and high performance is a strong suit of the Galaxy, which can carry eight passengers from Aspen to New York, taking off on a 74 degree Fahrenheit (ISA+24°C) day.
Three aircraft were involved in the flight test program, two pre-production aircraft (serial numbers 003 and 004), as well as the first production aircraft (005) which will now become the Galaxy Aerospace demonstrator aircraft. The Galaxy flight test program accumulated about 800 hours in 250 flights, using IAI's highly advanced telemetry system to collect data throughout the program. After less than two dozen preliminary flights, virtually every subsequent flight was devoted to collecting certification data, speeding the certification process.
In the course of the certification program, the Galaxy completed a number of long range flights, including nonstop flights from Tel Aviv to London for the Farnborough Air Show and from Paris to New York for the National Business Aviation Association convention in Las Vegas this past year.
The next production Galaxy (serial number 006) will be delivered to the Galaxy Aerospace completion center in Fort Worth, Texas in February. First customer delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 1999. The company plans to deliver eight aircraft in 1999 and 15 aircraft in the year 2000.