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.
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Tag: Test Program
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.”
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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.”
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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)