The FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J., last month took delivery of a special-mission Bombardier Global 5000 for its research and development program. This marks the 11th Bombardier aircraft in the FAA’s fleet, which already included Challenger 601/604s and Learjet 60s.

Midcoast Aviation of St. Louis designed and installed a custom interior, complete with several workstations, in the FAA’s Global 5000 airborne R&D laboratory. Montreal-based

Bombardier said the agency chose the aircraft for its payload capacity and endurance and because its cockpit systems and wing design are compatible with the leading-edge systems and technology that the FAA frequently develops and tests.
Bombardier said it has manufactured more than 170 Globals (Global Expresses and Global 5000s), and it delivered the 150th aircraft in the series–a Global 5000–in August.