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The Misconception of Aircraft Age Aircraft like the Citation 650 that Merlin1 flies (more commonly referred to as corporate aircraft), are built to the same exacting (FAR Part 25) standards and structural integrity of commercial jet airliners. In other words, the useful life expectancy of a corporate jet, like a commercial airliner, is roughly 60,000 flight hours. Airliners regularly meet this threshold, as annual utilization is up to 4,500 hours, sometimes more. Most corporate jets operate 200-400 hours per year and never come remotely close to useful life expectancy. Anyone that flies on scheduled airlines regularly has flown on aircraft with 40,000-plus total hours. Total aircraft time is a far more accurate barometer of aircraft age than is the date of manufacture.

Merlin1 acquires aircraft with approximately 4,000-8,000 hours total time, a fraction (less than 15%) of the usable engineered lifespan of the plane. We then perform a heavy check, refurbish the interior, upgrade the avionics if needed, install Wi-Fi and, if necessary, strip and paint the aircraft. Extensive aircraft specific documents and records are then submitted to the FAA for review. Upon completion of the review, two FAA inspectors with differing specializations then visit our facility and perform a “conformity inspection” which can last multiple days. This includes a review of the aircraft status, a check of the records, a maintenance audit and occasionally, a flight test. Upon successful completion of the conformity inspection the FAA grants an operating permit. This process takes three to six months at a cost of up to $1 million. The misconception that older aircraft are less safe or reliable is simply false.