Originally Posted by jetjockee

I vote for the Challenger...Besides being one of the sexiest corporate jets inside and out(wide body interior) it also has some great performance..However, it does have some some things to consider as do the others...
I'm not familiar with the F50, what I do know is the 3 holer has better 2nd segment climb gradients for IFR departures out of the ski areas...
It also might be 180 min etops approved...( I'm not 100% sure on that ) If your operating part 91 ETOPs wont matter...but remember it allows better safety margin for oceanic operations.
On the down side of the F50, their old and reliability wont be as good...sure you will have more maint, but thats the cost of having better 2nd segment and ETOPS..They are retro-fitting these glass. which in todays world is a great compliment.

Just my 2 cents, for whatever its worth...

Originally Posted by floydbird

We will have anywhere from 4 to 8 passengers max (6 would be avg), do not need a cabin crew. We fly from the west coast, and we will go to the ski destinations(ASE, EGE, SUN), Central U.S. (meaning Chicago, Ohio, etc.), and west to Hawaii. We can spend, say up to 20 mil.

I can already see that G200/250 has strengths in areas we really don't need. So I'm ready to rule it out. Strong candidates are CL30, Hawker 4000, and 900XP (but small baggage volume of the XP nearly rules it out completely). I don't know too much about Falcon 50's, but I am a bit spooked by 3 engines and what that means for long term maintenance costs, and having a new/"newish" airplane is important. Falcon 2000DX/EX probably out of our league price-wise from what I've seen. The Citation Sovereign is okay, runway performance is good, but it might be a little slow in cruise. We love the idea of the speed of the Citation X, but we believe fuel costs in the long run rule it out as well.

After my first run through the data, I would say the Challenger 300 is our best fit, followed by the Hawker 4000..

Any other aircraft to look at?

Originally Posted by jetjockee

I vote for the Challenger...Besides being one of the sexiest corporate jets inside and out(wide body interior) it also has some great performance..However, it does have some some things to consider as do the others...
I'm not familiar with the F50, what I do know is the 3 holer has better 2nd segment climb gradients for IFR departures out of the ski areas...
It also might be 180 min etops approved...( I'm not 100% sure on that ) If your operating part 91 ETOPs wont matter...but remember it allows better safety margin for oceanic operations.
On the down side of the F50, their old and reliability wont be as good...sure you will have more maint, but thats the cost of having better 2nd segment and ETOPS..They are retro-fitting these glass. which in todays world is a great compliment.

Just my 2 cents, for whatever its worth...

Originally Posted by floydbird

Do you have direct experience w/the Challenger 300? I do have a question.... The numbers I am looking at show about 1350 lbs available for payload w/full fuel. Is that accurate?

Originally Posted by jetjockee

Sorry, no CL300 experience. If you have any questions reagarding oceanic or high density operations I might be able to help you.

It really doesn't surprise me on the payload limits with full fuel, somewhat typical of 2 eng midsize jets in the long haul operations..

Here is a website that might answer your questions...

::: Jet Speed Aviation :::

feel free to pm me with any ques

Originally Posted by floydbird

Good website....has alot of the data that I'm missing. Thank you.