Story ID: 042June19/384EBACE
ACJ319neo Completes First Flight
By: Jerry Siebenmark
Caption: The derivative of the Airbus A319neo flew for an hour and 55 minutes on Wednesday.
Word Count: 255
Airbus Corporate Jets successfully flew its first ACJ319neo for an hour and 55 minutes on April 24, marking the launch of the aircraft’s short flight-test program to verify differences with its airline transport sibling, the A319neo, such as extra fuel tanks in its cargo hold that will give it intercontinental range, the European airframer announced last month. The aircraft is destined for K5 Aviation in Germany, which firmed up the order in January 2016.

Outfitted with five additional center fuel tanks and either CFM Leap-1A or Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines (K5 Aviation opted for the former powerplant choice), the ACJ319neo has a maximum range of 6,749 nm (12,500 km) with eight passengers. Compared with the A319neo, the ACJ version also has a lower average cabin altitude of 6,400 feet (1,951 m).

The flight-test program is expected to last no longer than a few weeks, an Airbus spokesman told AIN, at which point this first ACJ319neo will be delivered to K5 and outfitted with a VVIP cabin by Fokker Techniek in the Netherlands. The first flight comes a little more than three months after Airbus Corporate Jets delivered its first ACJ320neo to UK-based Acropolis Aviation. That bizliner is currently undergoing completions at AMAC’s facility in Basel, Switzerland, with a VVIP cabin designed by Alberto Pinto.

Airbus had nine orders in hand for the ACJ neo family—six for the ACJ320neo and three for the ACJ319neo—as of late last year.
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