Tag: G800

Gulfstream Finalizes G700 Testing, Puts G800 on Deck

Aviation Week reports that Gulfstream’s five G700 test flight aircraft are winding down from certification test flight, with FAA approval anticipated sometime this fall. The G700 is experiencing strong sales, with deliveries rolling out into late 2026. But Gulfstream is still looking to the future with the G800 ultra-long range business jet, seeking to replace the current G650 model. Gulfstream’s test plan for the G800 will be less intensive than the G700, due to the G700’s test flights doing much of the “heavy lifting” for flight testing. Gulfstream CEO Mark Burns said, “Things like flights into unknown icing and flammable fuel drainage, and all the difficult things you have to get through for testing an airplane, do not have to be repeated on the 800.” Gulfstream estimates it “will take 6-9 months after G700 certification is complete to finish G800 certification.” The company is targeting early 2024 for FAA certification of the G800.
Full Story (Aviation Week)

GAMA Report Says General Aviation Recovery Sluggish but Positive

AirInsight reports that GAMA “released its shipments and billings report for the second quarter of 2023, and the results are mildly positive for the general aviation market.” The recovery “is slow but positive through the second quarter.” Year over year “through Q2, business jet deliveries are up 2.4%, and the total value of shipments is up 1.5%.” However, as compared with 2019, the industry “remains behind pre-pandemic levels in 2019 in business jet deliveries.” By contrast, the helicopter market “has rebounded significantly, with turbine helicopters now exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels by 13.4% and 23.4% higher billings.” Business jets “have the highest prices and drive revenues for the industry.”
Full Story (Airinsight)

Gulfstream G800 Completes First Flight

Aviation International News reports that the first “Gulfstream G800 – registered as N800G – completed its inaugural flight this morning, officially launching the flight-test program for the 8,000-nm twinjet.” N800G “lifted off from Gulfstream Aerospace’s headquarters at Georgia’s Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (KSAV) at 9 a.m. and landed back at the field two hours later. It made the flight using a blend of sustainable aviation fuel.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Business Aircraft Activity Continues to Grow at Record Pace

Aviation International News reports that European and North American “business aircraft activity continued on a record-setting pace in the first half of the year, with Part 135 flights reaching a new high in March and Part 91 rebounding from Covid lows, according to the Argus International mid-year review.” Yearly gains have averaged “24 percent per month. In fact, each month in 2022 has posted a year-over-year increase over 2021.
Full Story (Aviation International News)

General Dynamics Unveils Two Gulfstream Business Jets

Reuters reports that General Dynamics has unveiled “two new Gulfstream aircraft, as it looks to tap a rebound in demand for business jets after the pandemic shrunk orders.” The company, “which introduced the jets on Monday, described the Gulfstream G800 as the longest-range aircraft in the Gulfstream fleet and the Gulfstream G400 as the first new entrant to the large-cabin class in over a decade.”
Full Story (Reuters)