Tag: Gulfstream

Business Jet Deliveries Forecasted to Rise 17% This Year

Aviation International News reports, “Deliveries from the top-five business jet OEMs are forecast to jump by 17 percent from an estimated 575 in 2023 to 670 deliveries in 2024, according to investment research firm Jefferies.” This would top “the 652 delivered in 2019, according to the analyst.” Driving “this growth are new programs – including Gulfstream’s flagship G700, which is anticipated to soon enter service, and Dassault Aviation’s Falcon 6X – along with an easing of the supply-chain headwinds, Jefferies added.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Gulfstream Plans to Deliver G700s in First Quarter This Year

FlightGlobal reports that Gulfstream “is hoping that deliveries of its G700 can begin in the current quarter after slower than anticipated certification of the ultra-long-range business jet by the Federal Aviation Administration caused revenue and profit to fall below expectations for 2023.” US type approval “for the Rolls-Royce Pearl 700-powered G700 was anticipated in the fourth quarter, enabling 15 deliveries by year end.” However, that “did not happen, causing Gulfstream’s parent General Dynamics to miss out on around $1 billion in revenue and $250 million in earnings for the three-month period.” General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic “said Gulfstream has told the first customers for the jet to ‘schedule their pre-delivery inspections contemplating delivery this quarter.’” Gulfstream expects to “deliver 50 G700s this year, a large proportion of the 160 jets it expects to hand over in 2024.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

Gulfstream Aerospace Begins G400 Flight-test Program

Aviation International News reports, “Gulfstream has officially begun the flight test program for its G400, successfully completing its first flight on August 15. The large-cabin twinjet departed Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (KSAV) at 9:04 a.m. and returned just under three hours later having reached a top speed of Mach 0.85 and an altitude of 41,000 feet. The flight was conducted using the manufacturer’s supply of blended sustainable aviation fuel.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Gulfstream Delivers First Two G700s

Aviation International News reports, “Gulfstream Aerospace has delivered the first two $75 million G700s to customers, the Savannah, Georgia-based aircraft manufacturer said yesterday afternoon. Both are now in service with undisclosed customers in the U.S. The company’s 7,750-nm flagship aircraft received FAA approval on March 29, followed by production certification and cabin interior approval on April 8.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

FAA Requiring G500 and G600 Inspections Due to Engine-Mount ‘Quality Escape’

FlightGlobal reports, “The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered inspections of the Gulfstream G500 and G600 fleet in response to a ‘quality escape’ involving improperly installed engine-mounting hardware. In a 7 June airworthiness directive, the agency says it identified issues with Gulfstream’s installation of engines on new production aircraft and with aftermarket engine installations.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

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)

Honeywell Debuts Avionics Upgrades for Gulfstream

Aviation International News reports that an upgrade to Honeywell’s Primus Epic avionics “is now available for the Gulfstream G650/650ER.” Gulfstream says the Block 3 avionics update “enhances pilot situational awareness.” As standard features, the Block 3 update “comes with new graphics modules that provide higher terrain resolution.” It also “has additional synthetic vision display options with better graphics, improvements to the communications and alerting systems, and new software for the next-generation flight management system.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Gulfstream Notifies FAA of Soot at Rear of G500 and G600 Jets

Reuters reports that Gulfstream Aerospace “has notified owners of its G500 and G600 jets and the Federal Aviation Administration that it has discovered soot at the rear of some of those business jets, possibly because of the way a small engine vents gas in flight.” The FAA and Gulfstream both “said they did not consider the issue to be a safety risk.” The FAA told Reuters, “While it is not a safety-of-flight issue, we are working with Gulfstream to ensure the company addresses it.”
Full Story (Reuters)

GAMA Reveals Aviation Sector Full-Year Numbers for Deliveries and Billings

FlightGlobal reports that the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) “revealed the sector’s full-year figures for unit deliveries and billings.” The major airframers “boosted their aircraft output in 2022, revenue increases tended to be even greater, indicating some impact from inflation perhaps, but also that manufacturers are better able to maintain their prices.” For example, business jet deliveries increased in number by only two aircraft, but total value of the jets went up 4.5%. The top five manufacturers – Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer, Gulfstream and Textron Aviation – “all saw their unit deliveries and billings rise in 2022.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal – Subscription Publication)

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)

Gulfstream Wins USAF Contract Modifications

Aviation International News reports that the US Air Force “plans to fly its Gulfstreams for a while longer.” On January 27, the Air Force “announced that Gulfstream Aerospace had been awarded a variety of contract modifications to support the service’s fleet of C-20 and C-37 (Gulfstream III, IV, V, and 550) models.” The modifications “have a combined value of $124 million.” The awards include an $87 million modification “for contract logistics support services, bringing the cumulative value of the contract to $594 million, and $37 million for C-20 and C-37 engineering support contract services, bringing the cumulative value of that contract to $612 million.” The work will be “performed in Savannah, Georgia; at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland; Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii; and Ramstein Air Base in Germany.” The work is being “contracted by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.” The comparatively newer C-37As (GV) and C-37Bs (G550) “are based at the 89th Airlift Wing, 99th Airlift Squadron, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; the 15th Airlift Wing, 65th Airlift Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; and the 86th Airlift Wing, 76th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.”
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)

Gulfstream Begins Flying Final G700 in Test Program

Aviation International News reported that on Thursday, Gulfstream conducted the “sixth and final test aircraft in” the company’s G700 program. The “fully-outfitted aircraft flew for more than three and a half hours, reaching an altitude of 48,000 feet and a top speed of Mach 0.935.” This aircraft “will be put through a test regimen that will include more than 15,500 test points, examining and validating every cabin function to ensure reliability and customer comfort upon delivery.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Gulfstream Delivers 40 Business Jets In Fourth Quarter

Reuters reports that General Dynamics’s Gulfstream Aerospace reported 40 business jet deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2020, which was down from 44 in 2019. The aerospace unit “posted a 16.9% fall to $2.44 billion. Total revenue fell 2.7% to $10.48 billion.” However, “the broader business jet market saw an order boost late in 2020 as U.S. buyers rushed to take advantage of favorable tax rules they feared could change under the new Biden administration.”
Full Story (Reuters)