Active business jets in the U.S. in 2014: Approximately 12,500 (on-demand charter included)*
Number in 1980: 3,000*
Number projected in 2035: 20,815*
First bizjet: Lockheed JetStar
Year introduced: 1957, to U.S. Air Force
Number of engines: Four, fuselage-mounted, two per side, 14,800 lbs. thrust total
Seating: 2 crew, plus 10 passengers
Max weight/speed/range of JetStar: 44,500 lbs./476 kts/3,000 nm
Number produced: 200
First civilian bizjet (disputed): North American Sabreliner
Number produced: 800 (600 for civilian market)
Typical seating: 2 crew, plus 7 passengers
Max weight/speed/range of Sabreliner: 17,760 lbs./478 kts/2,170 nm
First light jet: Learjet Model 23
Meaning of the “23” designation: First Part 23 bizjet and Lear’s last Part 23 model
Designation of Learjet’s follow-on: Learjet 24 (a Part 25 model, go figure)
Year Model 23 introduced: 1963
Learjet 23 max weight/speed/range: 12,500 lbs./488 kts/1,830 nm
Number produced: 104
Number lost in accidents: 27 (26% of fleet)
Cost of original Learjet 23: $14 million (for the entire program!)
Cost per unit: $500,000
First turbofan bizjet: Cessna Citation Model 500, 1969
Original name of Citation: FanJet 500
Cost of original Citation: $700,000
Top speed: 345 knots
Speed of Cessna Citation M2: 405 knots
First single-pilot jet: Cessna Citation I-SP, 1977
Most produced bizjet: Cessna CitationJet model 525 (nearly 2,000 produced since 1991)
Largest bizjet: Airbus A380 VIP conversion
Cost: $300 million for airframe, $200 million for customization
Best-selling bizjet (in dollar value): Gulfstream G650ER ($66.5 million)
Fatal accident rate for general aviation, 2013: 1.05 per 100,000 hours
Fatal accident rate for crew-flown business aircraft, 2013: 0.05 per 100,000 hours flown**
Fatal accident rate for business aircraft, 1990: 0.95 per 100,000 hours flown**
Bizjets sold worldwide 1964: 3 (first civil sales)**
Most bizjet sales in a single year: More than 955 units, in 2008*
Value of bizjet shipments in 2008: Approximately $22 billion*
Best-selling light jet in 2015: Cessna Citation M2, 41 units*
First production composite fuselage bizjet: Beech Premier I
First all-composite bizjet: None
Most hours by a bizjet pilot: Clay Lacy, 50,000-plus***
Average age of U.S.-based bizjet in 2010: 16 years*
Jet fuel consumed by GA aircraft in 2014: 1.35 billion gallons*
Average rate of fuel consumption in bizjets: 250 gph*
Average rate of fuel consumption in pistons: 13.5 gph*
Avgas consumed by GA aircraft in 2014: 196 million gallons (14% of Jet-A GA total)*
U.S. bizjet hours flown in 2014 (includes on-demand charter): 3.8 million*
U.S. piston hours flown in 2014: 12 million*
U.S. state with the biggest bizjet fleet: What else? Texas, 894 planes*
* = General Aviation Manufacturers Association Databook
** = National Business Aviation Association, nbaa.org
*** = ClayLacy.com
