Aircraft
NBAA 2003 Convention Report
The 2003 NBAA Convention celebrated the centennial of manned powered flight with some powerful and exotic hardware, including three new derivative airplane

The 2003 NBAA Convention celebrated the centennial of manned powered flight with some powerful and exotic hardware, including three new derivative airplanes that would have astonished Orville and Wilbur.

Grabbing attention–and headlines–were the Rolls-Royce Tay-powered Gulfstream 450, the heavy-iron Bombardier Global Express XRS and the faster and longer-range Cessna Citation XLS. The introduction of three business jets–even if they are derivatives of existing models rather than clean-sheet designs–added to the sense of optimism that seemed everywhere last month among the million square feet of exhibit space reserved for the NBAA show in the sprawling Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.