Following on from the 1124 Westwind, IAI produced their first indigenous design, the 1125 Astra. First flown on March 19th 1984. It evolved in to the Astra SP and then the Astra SPX, identifiable by winglets. Following Gulfstream's acquisition of Galaxy Aerospace, who held the type certificate for the Astra as well as the later 1126 Galaxy, in 2001 the Astra was rebranded as the Gulfstream G100. In US military use it was known as the C-38A Courier although the Air Force only operated 2 out of Andrews. A total of 152 Astras were built. Cons 5 through 10 were not built and 158 was the last.
The Astra evolved in to the G150. Slightly longer and wider than the earlier model plus a shorter nose which is the easiest way to tell them apart. First flown on 3rd May 2005 with a total of 126 built. Production ended in 2017 with Gulfstream deciding to concentrate on mid-size and large cabin aircraft.
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| Early Astra landing and G150 taxying |
Again, any corrections or comments welcome.
2 comments:
Can this aircraft be trace all the way back to the old "Jet Commander" ? A Ted Smith design?
The Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander first flew on January 27, 1963 - 56 years ago! It was designed by a team lead by Ted R. Smith.The 1121's empennage was used on subsequent derivatives, including the Westwind and Astra families and the Gulfstream G100 and G150 models.
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