Comparison of Two Business Jets - Usage and Flight Loads

Usage and flight loads of a Global Express XRS and a Global Express 5000 are analyzed and compared. The XRS was flown as a standard business jet, while the 5000 was used for various missions, including testing flight procedures. The XRS data consisted of 1140 hours and 493800 nm. The 5000 data amounted to 582 hours and 194000 nm. It is shown that the 5000 was used for much shorter missions than the XRS, resulting in almost twice the number of ground-air-ground cycles per 100 hours. Also, the 5000 was flown more aggressively than the XRS, with much larger pitch and roll angle excursions. Exceedance charts are presented for gust and maneuver incremental vertical load factors. Both airframes experienced similar gust loads, but the frequency of the positive maneuver loads obtained from the 5000 was nearly one order of magnitude larger than that of the XRS at incremental values exceeding 0.20 g. Nonetheless, both airframes were operated well within their limitations. This suggests that while two aircraft can be very similar in design, their maintenance schedules have to be adjusted to account for the differences in their missions.