Canadian Gulfstreams - Part 3

By 1975, Gulfstream II owners were expressing an interest in an aircraft that could fly farther and faster. In April 1978, Grumman American introduced the G-1159A Gulfstream III. It had a two-foot longer cabin, new wings with winglets and a more streamlined nose and cockpit section. Despite having the same Rolls-Royce Spey engines as the GII, the GIII had a 27% greater range (3,650NM vs 2,860NM) and a slightly higher cruise speed (M.77 vs M.75).

On August 31, 1978, Grumman Aerospace sold Grumman American to American Jet Industries. AJI changed its name to Gulfstream American and expressed its confidence in the new Gulfstream III. When the prototype was unveiled at Savannah on September 21, 1979, there were 52 orders in hand. The first GIII took flight on December 2, 1979. By the end of that month, the final (256th) GII departed the factory. The GIII received its FAA certification on September 22, 1980 and the first customer delivery (c/n 301, N100P) was made on April 15, 1981.

While the GII had dominated the upper end of the bizjet market for 13 years, a new entrant was aiming to take a share of that prestigious niche. The Canadair CL-600-1A11 Challenger 600 had a wider cabin and engines that were both quieter and less thirsty than the Speys. Gulfstream II owners (including American Financial, Bristol-Myers, Chrysler, Citibank, W.R. Grace, Northrop, Texaco, Time and Xerox) purchased Canadian-built Challengers.

The new competitor had an even greater impact in its home market. The first two Canadian GIII customers had both operated GIIs. Denison Mines of Toronto received c/n 307 (C-GSBR) in August 1981 and Kaiser Resources of Vancouver took delivery of c/n 317 (C-GKRL) a month later. These would be the only two new GIIIs purchased by Canadian companies.

During 1987, there was only one Canadian GIII operating. At the same time, there were seven Canadian corporate Challenger 600/601s in service.

Kaiser's airplane had a short stay, as it was exported to the U.S. in July 1982. Denison's GIII was later operated by Olympia & York Developments as C-GSBR from July 1989 until July 1992. It then became C-GGPM with Peter Munk's American Barrick Resources and remained in Canada until May 2002. Only two other GIIIs wore a Canadian registration. Execaire of Montreal operated c/n 310 as C-FYAG for just over seven months during 1990 and c/n 368 was later operated out of Toronto by Chartright Air as C-GBBB from 1999 until 2012. Of the 202 Gulfstream IIIs built, only four were owned by Canadians.

C-GSBR at Castle Donington in 1987 by Steve Blood

C-GBBB at Luton in 2006 by Bob Holland