Cessna and Gulfstream Enter Private Jet Speed Race

The Cessna Citation Ten
Cessna announced last week that they will be raising the top speed of their Citation Ten business jet to Mach 0.935. This remarkable milestone in Cessna’s impressive history surpasses the speed of the Citation X, which currently holds the fastest civilian aircraft speed distinction. This means that the X will lose its throne has the fastest civilian aircraft in the world, giving way to the latest addition in Cessna’s family of business jets. Until last week, the coveted speed title was going to be claimed by Gulfstream with their new G650 until Cessna added winglets and redesigned engines on the Ten to outpace the G650 by Mach 0.10. Amidst the heated battle between the two aviation titans, who will cross the finish line first is tough to predict. Both companies have a long history of designing and redesigning aircraft that outperform those of the competition. What is sure to occur, however, is the unveiling of two remarkable aircraft that will appeal to the wide range of needs our clients demand.
The Gulfstream G650
When two companies go head to head in a competition, they are certain to put their best step forward in every phase of the design process. Speed, amongst other things, is one of the single most important factors that influence clients to fly privately. “As our founder Clyde Cessna said, ‘Speed is the only reason for flying,’ so at Cessna we design, engineer, manufacture and fly the fastest civil aircraft in the world…so [customers] can work faster, more efficiently and get the job done,” said Cessna president and CEO Scott Ernest. “The Cessna team took the already powerful Citation X and made it that much better.” A Gulfstream spokeswoman told Aviation International News that “We congratulate Cessna on this achievement.” The lines seem to be clearly drawn and time will tell which aircraft comes out on top.