IAI to Gulfstream pt2

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.

Early Astra landing and G150 taxying

Again, any corrections or comments welcome.

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

Round-up 9/1

As expected, very quiet over the holidays so 2 weeks between my reports. G280 N137GA (2137) was ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 1st. Gulfstream Savannah had to close for a couple of days as heavy snow hit the area. See AIN report Changes to the G1 fleet are few and far between as it's believed there are no more than 10 still in service. N164PA (054) has N170PA reserved on the US register suggesting there may still be some life in this one. Very sad to see reports of a G150 (OE-GKA 300) captain being killed when he went to open the door of his aircraft in Kittilä, Finland.
See ASN.  Reports are suggesting aircraft was pressurised but am sure the full details will be revealed eventually. The current G650 demonstrator (N650GA 6275) has N675GS reserved which was it's original test reg. As it's their only demo machine, it's understood that it will be leased back to Gulfstream for about 2 months pending the arrival of N650ER (6306). The last N650GD (6252) went to Canada in November but was seen just prior to that at Farnborough by Westleigh Bushell.



Round-up 14/6

A gathering together of snippets that alone don't warrant a complete post.

The last G150 has recently been delivered. N126GA (326) was cancelled to San Marino on the 12th. Understand that G650 N277FL (6159) has become B-3277 but would like to see a picture to be sure. The latest edition of Aviation Letter reports a sighting of G650 B-3288 at Savannah last month. "Painted all over black and red". Sounds nice.  G650 N595TG (6246) became the latest delivery when it departed Long Beach yesterday for Detroit via Portland. G650 D-AYSM (6146) has joined the Maltese register as 9H-DTY. Will try and make this a weekly post but could depend on how my health holds up.

Seen at Malta today by Marc Clayton



Last G150 ferried to the States

IAI Gulfstream G150 N126GA (326) arrived at Luton last Wednesday (15th) from Belfast. It departed today to Shannon and Halifax en route to Dallas for completion. It was caught overnight by Westleigh Bushell sitting on stand 54. This is the 126th G150 and is believed to be the last one as no higher G150s appear on the US register.



End of the road soon for the G150?

Sales of the smallest Gulfstream in the range have been slow lately with only 5 being delivered in both 2014 and 2015. A total of about 120 have been delivered since the first one flew in May 2005. As Gulfstream have stated that "the future of the mid-size market is yet to be determined", this probably speaks volumes. The G280 however is going strong with the 100th being delivered recently. Credit Flightgobal for this report.

The prototype G150 at EBACE in 2006

Update In a statement issued on 28 September 2016, GAC says it has sold the final unit, which will be delivered to its owner in mid-2017.