Highest range (miles) of a private jet ?
 

Hey folks !

I had a talk with colleagues today where we talked about the possibility to fly from LHR to LAX with s private plane (of course just spoken in terms of miles :D )...

I wasnt sure if there is a plane that is used for private charters with such a range, except you charter a 767, 777 etc.

Any ideas? Maybe you know specific ac types ;)

Thanks and a happy new year !

Just found the Gulfstream V550 with a total range of 7.400 miles as well as the BBJ (Boeing Business Jet 737) 6.000 miles, on the website of NetJets !

Aditionally 747-400 charters can do that, and there are several people with private 747-400s.

I think the Falcon 7x can do it as well?

Yes these people would even charter the space shuttle if available :D

But you are right I checked it ! The falcon is about 6000nm

While one might be able to plot a route to LAX at less than 7500nm, I'm not sure that a combination of projected fuel state at landing (for official reasons), a margin for weather and ATC slowdowns/diversions and the state of the crew and pax's rear ends after all that sitting (comfort) would make a non-stop in a Gulfstream possible. I suspect that all aboard would benefit from a pit stop along the way.

>Any ideas?

The US Air Force has a pair of VC-25As (tail numbers 28000 and 29000) which are basically highly modified Boeing 747-200Bs.

These planes use the traffic control sign "Air Force One" when the president of the USA is on board one of them.

The VC-25A is capable of flying 12600 km, but can also re-fuel in-flight, which means they can stay up almost indefinitely.

Might be tricky to charter one though :D

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada

Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer Jet
 

I am not a pilot (long-ago experience in a bugsmasher not withstanding), so please, someone, help me understand the above?

Per http://gc.kls2.com/cgi-bin/gc?PATH=lax-lhr
LAX (33°56'33"N 118°24'29"W) LHR (51°28'39"N 00°27'41"W) 4741 nm

This seems to leave plenty of margin, compared to 7500 nm.

Also, per http://www.gulfstream.com/g500/
Max Range 5,800 nm

... http://www.gulfstream.com/g550/
Max Range 6,750 nm

Per http://www.boeing.com/commercial/bbj...ndex_html.html , the BBJ and BBJ2 have ranges from LA that comfortably include London

i was recently looking at a global express from SEA-HKG which is just under 6500 miles IIRC

considerably cheaper than a G V i believe

Certain aircraft are quite capable of it. Crew rest may be a problem however. I don't suppose most private jets have provisions for an extra pilot or two or rest facilities for cabin staff.

Our Chairman's G500 does. I suspect it is easy to charter such a flight.

Yes, some do.

why would crew rest and pax comfort be a problem LAX-LHR??

Well, I am not sure how much food they keep on board, but at some point after the food is gone and all the Interns have been eaten, the pilots would starve and the plane would have to come down one way or the other... Although, maybe Steven Segal can figure a way to board the plane mid-air with some food. In all fairness though, you did say "almost indefinately." ;)