Round-up 4/6

G280 N980GA (2180) ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 30th. Believe this is the 1000th biz-jet built by IAI. G650 N232G (6365) delivered from Long Beach to Yellowstone the same day. New ERs this period were 6368 and 6373. Been ages since we had a G500 delivery so good to see that N499JB (72031) delivered Savannah to Scottsdale today (4th).
Gulfstream have commenced building their new maintenance hangar at Farnborough and when completed will be the biggest facilty after Savannah. See www.ainonline.com
An unusual visitor (?) to Biggin recently was G280 PR-CRC (2066) which was caught by Westleigh Bushell.

A7-CGR update

Eric Denison has kindly sent me a picture of G500 A7-CGR (72021) arriving at Farnborough this morning. Used the callsign of QQE460 for the flight from Savannah. Looks good for a night stop I'd have thought. Think I'm right in saying that all 3 of these G500s have been in Farnborough in the last week.

Update: QQE460 continued on to Doha the following day (27th)

First Qatari G500s delivered

Launch customer Qatar Executive have today taken delivery of their first G500s. A7-CGP (72011) arrived at Farnborough from Savannah as QQE461 and was followed 5 minutes later by A7-CGQ (72015) as QQE460 also direct from the factory. CGP departed to Toulouse less than an hour later. This increases the number of this model now delivered to 8. Some intrepid photographers were there despite the poor conditions. The first is from Dave Lythgoe while the rest are by Eric Denison. Many thanks to both.

 

 





Update: A7-CGP departed Toulouse and A7-CGQ departed Farnborough on the morning of the 19th and both arrived at Doha, more than 40 minutes apart this time.

Note: It should be pointed out that the tie ups between cons and regs has been assumed at this point but they do seem logical.

Random Gulfstream photo #29

Shots of G500s flying in the UK in sunshine are a bit rare so thought I'd show this one of N505GD (72005) departing Farnborough after this year's Air Show. It was taken by my good friend Westleigh Bushell. Some of you may have followed him on Flickr in the past but like me, he's had to start a new account and his terrific pics can be seen here (link). Well worth a look!

11th G500 at FIA18

G500 N511GD (72011) arrived from Savannah last night to participate in this year's Farnborough Air Show. It is believed to be destined for Qatar Executive upon delivery. Gulfstream have brought N505GD (72005) so possibly the first time 2 G500s have been seen together outside Savannah.

Picture via BCA

5th Qatari G650 delivered

G650ER A7-CGE (6301) arrived at Farnborough this morning from Savannah using callsign QQE460. It continued on to Doha and was caught by Eric Denison leaving FAB on the final leg. Qatar Executive now have 5 Gulfstream G650ERs and are the largest operator of the type to date.



4th G650 delivered to Qatar

G650 A7-CGD (6271) arrived at Farnborough this morning on delivery from Savannah. A little over an hour later, it continued on to Doha using the callsign QQE20. It is the 1st of 4 to not carry the Qatar Airways logo as Qatar Executive are understood to be trying to be independent from the airline. It was caught departing Farnborough by Eric Denison.



This week's G650 delivery

G650 N500SA (6226) arrived at Farnborough this afternoon from Van Nuys. Believed to be on delivery to a customer in Saudi Arabia. This super pic was taken by Westleigh Bushell. My efforts can be seen on my Flickr account.

Update: N500SA returned to Van Nuys on the 18th so the Middle East connection still to be confirmed.



Random Gulfstream photo #17

George Lucas' G550 N138GL (5476) arrived at Farnborough this morning from Perugia in Italy. It was captured by Westleigh Bushell. Certainly a distinctive colour.



Recent first visits

There has been a spate of new G650s arriving in London recently. I've been chasing a few myself lately and my results can be found in my new Flickr account. I'm not the only one and I believe these shots are worth displaying. N464GR (6232) arrived at Farnborough yesterday from Paris and was caught by Eric Denison. N426GA (6233) arrived at Biggin Hill yesterday from Fort Lauderdale and was caught by Westleigh Bushell. Consecutive frames too. Many thanks to both for sharing.



Movie Star?

G650 M-OVIE (6247) arrived at Farnborough yesterday on what appeared to be a training flight. It was caught by Graham Wasey.



G650 delivered to Barbados

G650 8P-ASD (6245) arrived at Farnborough this afternoon from Newquay. It was first tracked with the new reg on 10th May. Will probably be replacing G550 8P-MSD (5137). This company have operated most versions of the Gulfstream starting with G2 8P-LAD (210) in 1990. Many thanks to Westleigh Bushell for his picture.



Random Gulfstream photo #13

G650 C-GNDN (6162) arrived at Farnborough yesterday from Zurich. It is operated by Skyservice Business Aviation for a Calgary couple who are technology entrepreneurs. They previously had a G550 (C-GNDN / 5230) and a G450 (C-GXDN / 4030). It was caught by Westleigh Bushell.



Moroccan G3 still active!

Veteran G3 CN-ANU (365) arrived this morning at Farnborough on a brief visit and was caught by Eric Denison. Originally delivered to Saudia as HZ-AFO in 1983 and transferred to Morocco in 1989. Good to see this still in service and has had a repaint recently.



1st G500 arrives in Europe

G500 N504GS (72004) arrived at Farnborough from Savannah this evening to take part in the Air Show next week and became the first of this model to visit Europe. See gulfstreamnews.com

Picture courtesy of Gulfstream Aerospace



Philip Green's new Gulfstream delivered

G650 VP-BCT (6169) has just arrived at Farnborough on delivery from Long Beach via Bermuda and Malta. This should be replacing G550 VQ-BGN (5218) which itself replaced G550 VP-BGN (5011). Should therefore soon be a regular visitor to Luton and Northolt.

 

 

Top picture shows VP-BCT departing Farnborough on a training flight April 2nd to Ostend courtesy of Eric Denison. Middle picture shows VQ-BGN at Luton in 2010 and the bottom picture shows VP-BGN at Dusseldorf in 2005.

 

Note to members of the Press - Please do not contact me to clarify or confirm this post.