Which wings are best for your mission? It's a question almost as old as powered flight itself. No one aircraft does everything well. But depending on your needs, some are better than others.
Which airplane should you charter or buy? Many factors affect the answer, so our reviewer offers multiple picks.
For 17 years, I've covered the new and used markets for Business Jet Traveler and flown some remarkable airplanes. Here are my suggested mission-aircraft pairings. They are not all as perfect as the gastronomical equivalent of savoring a bottle of 1959 Chateau Lafite Rothschild with chateaubriand at Restaurant Paul Bocuse in Lyon, but some can get you pretty close.
- BEST AIRCRAFT FOR LONG-DISTANCE TRAVELERS
- Bombardier Global 7500
- Runner-Up: Gulfstream G650ER
- BEST AIRCRAFT FOR FLYING INTO THE WILD
- Pilatus PC-6 Porter
- Runner-Up: Viking 400
- BEST AIRCRAFT FOR PILOTS ON A BUDGET
- Mitsubishi MU-2 Marquise
- Runner-Up: Daher TBM 700B
- BEST AIRCRAFT FOR SHORT HOPS
- Piper M600
- Runner-Up: Daher Kodiak
- BEST AIRCRAFT FOR FAMILY VACATIONS
- Embraer Legacy 650E
- Runner-Up: Pilatus PC-24
- BEST AIRCRAFT FOR BARGAIN-HUNTERS
- Hawker 4000
- Runner-Up: Learjet 35A
- BEST AIRCRAFT FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS
- Dassault Falcon 8X
- Runner Up: Eclipse 550
- BEST AIRCRAFT FOR TRAVELERS IN A HURRY
- Cessna Citation X+
- Runner-Up: Gulfstream G500
- BEST AIRCRAFT FOR POTENTATES
- Boeing BBJ 747-8i
- Runner-Up: Airbus A340-500
Ready why the author chose those aircraft