Round-up 9/4

G650 OE-LLL (6353) was delivered from Savannah via Bangor to Vienna on the 2nd using the callsign IJM717. it continued on to Moscow on the 5th where it is believed it will be based. G650 N681GD (6381) ferried Savannah to Long Beach on the 2nd. G650 6375 has been upgraded on the register to ER.
Feel it's about time I said something about Flexjet. New G650s are coming from the 2nd hand market with N651FX being 6013 and N652FX being 6050. As for their G500s, there's no sign of anything happening. My initial guess was that numbers 6,7 and 8 were for them but seeing N506GD engineless lately suggests otherwise. Flightaware "suggests" that N507GD did a first flight from Savannah at the end of last month so maybe things will change. Joint launch custome Qatar Executive are using their 3 regularly as evidenced by the latest being at Luton on Saturday.
Gulfstream have just announced that a G650ER flew from Singapore to Tucson at the end of March in a time of 15 hours and 23 minutes becoming the world's longest business jet flight.

Round-up 12/11

A day early this week, for personal reasons. Looks like the "new" Flexjet G650 operated a first service from Cleveland to Orlando on the 6th as LXJ651 (although still there on the 12th). G550 N585GA (5585) appears to have made a first flight from Savannah on the 7th. The 3rd G500 was delivered on the 8th when N1980G (72013) flew from Savannah to Denver-Centennial. Joining (or replacing?) Challenger 300 N1980Z. You will already have read about the new British G650.
A really nice collection of Gee Two scans is being uploaded to Flickr and can be seen at Gulfstream 2 collection on Flickr I hope you like them as much as I do. Certainly brings back memories.

CF-SBR (009) at Edmonton (YXD)



Round-up 23/10

G650 N721MM (6332) departed Long Beach on the 17th heading to Atlanta-Peachtree on it's delivery flight. It flew to Gulfport–Biloxi the following day before finally arriving at Las Vegas on the 19th. G280 N259GA (2159) flew from Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 18th. G650 2-EPIC (6286) finally delivered when it departed Long Beach on the 19th heading to Anchorage. It continued on to Shenzhen the following day. G650 9H-CAA (?c/n) has been spotted at Long Beach recently sporting the same colours as Global 5000 OE-ICA so presumably is for Avcon Jet of Moscow. G150 N162RU (245) cancelled to Estonia on the 17th to become, I believe, the first Gulfstream on that register. Talking of registers, 30 G650s have been added to the US one bringing allocations up to 6395.
G650 N888YT (6013) has just been registered as N651FX which would suggest this is the 2nd of the type for Flexjet. Strange they would go to the used market so soon. Possibly to cover late delivery of G500s (?)

N721MM departing on delivery. Pic by Michael Carter

Another G450 for Flexjet

G450 N457FX (4154) arrived at Long Beach yesterday from Portland. This will be Flexjet's 8th G450 but I'm sure it will receive a new coat of paint before entering service with them as it still retains the colours of the previous Chinese operator. Whether this is part of the long term plan or a reaction to the late deliveries of G500s will probably never be admitted. Hopefully these new models will appear by the end of the year. The latest member of the fleet was caught on short finals to Long Beach by Michael Carter.





An extremely active G650

A long-time fellow Gulfstream aficionado, Frederick K. Larkin, has brought the activity of a particular GVI to my attention. Serial number 6268, "N650FX" of Flexjet, appears to be the fleet leader in terms of monthly hours flown and cycles completed. According to www.flightaware.com, "LXJ650" flew a minute short of 89 hours during 38 flights in March. This is actually less than the previous 2 months with 97 and 93 hours accrued in January and February. That represents an annualized rate of just over 1,100 hours - double or triple what most GVIs would experience. This impressive level of utilization speaks volumes about the customer demand for the type as well as its operational reliability.

pic via Flexjet



Flexjet receives 1st G650

The first of an order for G650s by Flexjet has arrived at Cleveland (CGF). It is not known how many they have on order although a 2nd is expected soon. We look forward to seeing them spread their wings and become a regular sight at airports around the world.

picture by @cuzac31

via a Flexjet press release