Business jet

A business jet, private jet, or bizjet, or simply B.J., is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by public bodies, government officials or the armed forces.

History

1950s first flight

The Lockheed JetStar, seating ten passengers and two crew, first flew on 4 September 1957. 204 aircraft were produced from 1957 to 1978, powered by four 3,300 pounds-force (15 kN) Pratt & Whitney JT12 turbojet engines, then Garrett TFE731 turbofan for a 44,500 pounds (20.2 t) MTOW, then two General Electric CF700 turbofans.

The smaller, 17,760 pounds (8.06 t) MTOW North American Sabreliner first flew on 16 September 1958. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT12 turbojet engines then Garrett TFE731, more than 800 were produced from 1959 to 1982.

1960s first flight

The 25,000 pounds (11 t) MTOW British Aerospace 125 first flew on 13 August 1962, powered by two 3,000 pounds-force (13 kN) Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojets. Its engine were replaced by Garrett TFE731, then Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300 turbofans. Almost 1,700 aircraft were produced between 1962 and 2013 after being marketed as the Hawker 800.

Zimbabwe

Coordinates: 20°S 30°E / 20°S 30°E / -20; 30

Zimbabwe (/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked sovereign state located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers. It borders South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the northwest, and Mozambique to the east and northeast. The capital and largest city is Harare.

Since the 11th century, present-day Zimbabwe has been the site of several organised states and kingdoms as well as a major route for migration and trade. The British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes first demarcated the present territory during the 1890s; it became the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1923. In 1965, the conservative white minority government unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia. The state endured international isolation and a 15-year guerrilla war with black nationalist forces; this culminated in a peace agreement that established universal enfranchisement and de jure sovereignty in April 1980. The country then rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations (later suspended in 2003), and became a member of the United Nations and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Zimbabwe (disambiguation)

Zimbabwe can refer to:

Great Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the country's Late Iron Age. Construction on the monument by ancestors of the Shona people began in the 11th century and continued until the 15th century, spanning an area of 722 hectares (1,780 acres) which, at its peak, could have housed up to 18,000 people. It is recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Great Zimbabwe served as a royal palace for the Zimbabwean monarch and would have been used as the seat of political power. One of its most prominent features were the walls, some of which were over five metres high and which were constructed without mortar. Eventually the city was abandoned and fell into ruin.

The earliest known written mention of the ruins was in 1531 by Vicente Pegado, captain of the Portuguese garrison of Sofala, who recorded it as Symbaoe. The first European visit may have been made by the Portuguese traveler António Fernandes in 1513-1515, who crossed twice and reported in detail the region of present-day Zimbabwe (including the Shona kingdoms) and also fortified centers in stone without mortar. However, passing en route a few miles north and about 35 miles south of the site, he did not make a reference to the Great Zimbabwe riddle.