Updated for 2016-2017 Season:
Lets be real, all jets are pretty dang fast. After all, if they weren’t, then they would not be very good at their job! Now the question that arises pretty frequently among pilots, mechanics, and the venture capital lot is which private jet is actually the fastest? There are many different features to consider including max speed, cruise speed (sustainable speed), and for fun we have also calculated flight times (accounting for range). Rather than argue this question endlessly, we have summarized it all fairly for you. After spending hours pouring through marketing materials, facts sheets, and aircraft brochures for dozens of aircraft, we have assembled the following data:
The fastest private jet currently on the market is the Citation X with a peak speed of 717.39 miles per hour. This equates to 0.935 Mach.
What is Mach and why is it frequently used in aviation?
Mach is a measurement of the speed of sound. 1 Mach is equal to the speed of sound which is 767.3 MPH. For a long time in the aviation community, it was believed that due to the nature of air waves this speed could not be broken. As that speed is approached, the distance between the sound waves gets closer and closer and many experts used to theorize that it would form a limit where an aircraft could theoretically no longer accelerate as the air would become so dense that it would become a literal wall. Therefore, once that theory was smashed in 1947 by an American rocket aircraft, it became a symbol of pride in the aviation community. Today, many aircraft’s speeds are still measured in Mach as an attribution to that event and a badge of honor on the ability of modern aviation.
The Citation X is built for speed and manages to achieve a .01 Mach higher max speed than the competition. The closest aircraft is the G650 and G500 series which pull an impressive .925 mach at peak. This high speed is more than impressive considering the capable payloads and range of those aircraft compared to the Citation X. While the Citation X is built for speed alone, the increased size and versatility of the Gulfstream jets are a feat of their own. Additionally, this is only a measurement of MAX speeds. Due to the physics behind aviation, flying at max speed is not sustainable for all but the shortest of journeys. Another important aspect to consider when examining the speed of a jet is the cruise speed. This is an important measurement because it is a much more frequently used capability of the aircraft. Again, after pouring through many data sheets, we put together a list of the fastest cruise speeds in private aviation:
Interestingly enough, the Citation X lags behind many of the other flagships when the cruise speed is considered. In fact, it drops back to 5th place while the Global 6000 becomes the fastest cruising jet in the world with a speed of 655.18 MPH! It actually makes perfect sense that the long range class Global series would thrive when the long haul is considered. While their size prevents them from rapidly accelerating against the wall of air that stacks against them, their size also allows them to pack the fuel payload necessary to maintain a long term high speed. It is actually one of the prides of the Bombardier Company that they can take you further, faster.
For further analysis, though it is not strictly related to speed, it is also important to consider how long you can fly without needing to stop for fuel. Considering how long an aircraft can stay in the air is calculated by taking the ranges of the aircraft and dividing by their ranges to generate the estimated number of hours they can stay in the sky. It also must be considered that the aircraft will need time to land and take off as well as the fact that the number of passengers will affect each plane differently. Therefore, rather than giving exact bar graphs, we put this data into a pie chart so that you can visualize it as a ratio of one plane to another.
With these calculations completed, we were impressed to see that the G650 has the longest flight time with an impressive 10.73 hours in the sky! Honorable mention for this category is the significantly older Falcon 7x which has aged surprisingly well as it is older than the rest of the jets on the chart. When developed, it was well ahead of its time which has allowed it to be a major contender even now.
All summarized, you can see that the Citation X is currently the fastest jet in the world with a speed of 717.39 MPH. The Global 6000 has the highest sustained cruise speed of 655.18 MPH. Additionally, the Gulfstream G650 has the longest time in the air with an insane 10.73 Flight Hours.
If you think that all of this is crazy cool and interesting, then you are probably a strong client for using these jets for your own travel! We love them as much as you do, and we do even more research than this into every trip quote. That is because we also love talking about, working with, and thinking about private jets.
Is there a jet that we left out? Speak up for your personal favorite below!