Gulfstream Introduces Its New Flagship - the G700

As expected, Gulfstream Aerospace unveiled its newest model yesterday at the NBAA convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Formally named GVIII-G700, it is being marketed as the G700. Although its advertised range (7,500NM @ M.85 or 6,400NM @ M.90) is the same as that of the G650ER, industry sources have suggested that after the flight test program its range capability may match or slightly exceed the 7,700NM range of Bombardier's Global 7500.
The G700 has design features that set it apart from the company's current flagship. These include:
- a 10-foot-longer fuselage that will enable another cabin zone (four vs the three on a G650ER) in addition to a dedicated crew rest station;
- ten vs eight cabin windows per side;
- Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines that will each provide up to 18,250 lbs. of thrust, or 8% more than the 16,900 lbs. produced by each of the G650ER's R-R BR725s;
-new curved winglets designed by Daher; and
- active-control sidesticks (like those on the smaller G500 and G600 models), instead of the traditional control yokes.
After the Pearl 700 engines have been certified, the first G700 is expected to fly during the first half of next year. Post certification, entry into service should be during 2022. Thanks to its order for 10 units of the US$75 million machine, Qatar Executive W.L.L. of Doha is the G700's launch customer. Flexjet, LLC, with its impressive US$1.2 billion order for 16 G700s, will be the first North American fleet operator of the eighth generation Gulfstream.


Photo courtesy of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation

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.

Round-up 28/5

G280 N279GA (2179) ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 22nd. Also this day, G650 N691GA (6391) looks to have made a first flight and N690GA (6390) ferried Savannah to Long Beach for completion. New ER this period was 6371.
Interesting to see that G500 N507GD (72007) arrived at EBACE in Geneva last week as a fully fitted demonstrator. It arrived direct from Las Vegas. No other news of note came out of the event.

Fairly rare G4 at Stansted recently. Pic by Marcus Jellyman

Round-up 14/5

2 weeks between round-ups as couldn't get on-line last week.
G500 N537GD (72037) appears to have made a first flight from Savannah on the 1st. G650s 6094, 6367 and 6379 upgraded to ER this period. G650 N663GD (6363) ferried Long Beach to Savannah on the 6th. Cancelled to Thailand the same day as HS-KVS. Departed Savannah on the 10th for Luton and then departed the following day for Bangkok (DMK). G650 N16SA (6360) delivered from Appleton to Teterboro  via Bradley on the 7th. From there it routed to Melbourne via Honolulu so may be Oz based. G650 N800J (6362) delivered from Appleton to Trenton via Bradley on the 10th to become the 2nd in the fleet.
A new batch of G650s have been added to the register and allocations now go up to 6425.

HS-KVS at Luton continuing it's delivery flight. Courtesy of Dave Lythgoe

Round-up 23/4

Probably more to report than expected with Easter slap in the middle. G500 N507GD has been flying again. On the 16th and then on the 20th. G650 N685GD (6385) appears to have made a first flight from Savannah on the 17th. G650 N400J (6359) was delivered to Trenton on the 18th. The 1st of 2 for Johnson & Johnson. G650 N686GD (6386) appears to have made a first flight on the 20th.
Nearer home, a flurry of G650 first visits at Luton recently. Managed to miss N305CC and believe EJ-ADMI is still in H125 on maintenance. Did however catch VP-CGP departing yesterday. More pics on my Flickr link (top right).

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.

Double Enterprise delivery

Enterprise Holdings, parent company of car rental companies Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rental Car (being the best known names when you arrive at the airport). Originally founded in 1957 (hence the cherished number N57EL) and re-named Enterprise in memory of one of the founders that served on the USS Enterprise (rather than a Star Trek fan)
G500 N57EL (72027) and N528GD (72028) were both delivered from Savannah on the 27th to St. Louis (base of Enterprise). Not sure if these will be replacing the current fleet of a pair of G450s or not. The old N57EL (4221) has taken up N47EL while the old N56EL (4230) has recently taken up N53EL so there's a good chance the 2nd G500 will take up N56EL in due course. They will be joining the single G550 N70EL (5510). To complete the story, the earliest aircraft I can find in the fleet were Dassault Falcons about 10 years ago.

Round-up 20/3

A day late this week as haven't been well.
G500 N100JS (72023) delivered to Morristown on the 12th to become the 14th delivery of the type. G280 N473GA (2173) ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 17th. G550 N37NG (5580) delivered to Dulles on the 18th. G650 N656GA (6356) ferried Long Beach to Savannah on the 18th. Cancelled to Malta the following day and is believed to be taking up 9H-OKO. Latest G650ER on the register is 6355.

N656GA at Long Beach by Michael Carter

Round-up 12/3

A busy week started with G280 N272GA (2172) ferrying Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 5th and becoming the 3rd one through this Essex airport in 6 days. Also that day, G650 N677GA (6377) ferried Savannah to Long Beach as GLF62. Managed to miss N654GA (6354) going in the opposite direction on the 3rd. This then cancelled to China that night and left Savannah on the 8th heading to Anchorage. It then continued on to Tianjin, China the following day. G650 N350GD (6350) flew Long Beach to Savannah on the 6th and cancelled to Malta as 9H-CAA on the 7th. Delivered overnight 10th/11th to Luqa in Malta. G550 N591GA (5591) appears to have made a first flight on the 6th from Savannah as GLF93. A first at my local as G500 A7-CGP arrived at Luton on the 6th to become the first G500 to visit here. Hopefully the first of many. G500 N924JE (72024) was delivered from Savannah on the 8th to become the 13th delivery. It routed to Springfield MO via Olathe KS. 6351 upgraded to G650ER.
The 400th post to this blog. Many thanks to the team.

Stunning scheme on this G4 at Luton recently. Pic by Dave Lythgoe

Round-up 5/3

G200 4K-AZ88 (189) had an "incident" at Moscow SVO on the 26th. See aviation-safety.net The 28th was a busy day. G280 N270GA (2170) ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted. G650 N667GA (6367) ferried Savannah to Appleton as GLF44. G500 N939ML (72022) was delivered initially to Portland as GLF44 (see pic below) and G650 N6CP (6349) was delivered Appleton to Trenton. The 4th produced G280 N271GA (2171) ferrying Tel Aviv to Stansted and some research has confirmed that this is the 50th G280 to ferry via Stansted. G650 N5CP (6347) delivered from Appleton to Trenton on the same day. Pfizer now have 4 G650s in their fleet. Don't think we've had an upgrade to G650ER since the end of January. 6357 has just changed to an ER on the register this morning.

Picture by Russell Hill at Portland

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)

Round-up 26/2

Chevron's latest G650 N1895T left Bradley on the 19th and was delivered to Oakland (it's base) via Hammond LA and Houston TX. Also this day, G500 N534GD (72034) appears to have made it's first flight on the 19th and is the highest (tracked) one to have flown to date. G650 N675GS (6375) ferried from Savannah to Long Beach on the 23rd as GLF14. See that G550 N517QS (5209) now has N517TW reserved. Perhaps Mister Woods no longer wishes to arrive in anonymity.
A 3rd Qatar Executive G500 is on delivery as I type. A7-CGR (72021) left Savannah last night and is currently heading to Farnborough. I show this as the 11th G500 delivery and the 1st this year.

Perhaps a new scheme as well as a new registration soon?

Round-up 12/2

First off, managed to miss a G280 delivery. 4X-CVJ (2168) ferried Tel Aviv to Belfast on the 25th of January. Not sure why it wasn't carrying N968GA. G280 N269GA (2169) ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 6th. G550 LX-PHS flew overnight 10th-11th Brunswick-Halifax-Luxembourg on delivery. This is believed to be con 5572 which was temporarily registered M-OPHS. G650 N1895T did a test flight from Long Beach on the 11th after more than 3 weeks on the ground. Delivery imminent?
Some pics have recently appeared of some greenies at Savannah. Also, N5GG (72014) appears on this blog for the first time. Quite surprising to see N503G without engines as it has previously been seen flying. N506GD is seen in front and have also been told that G600 N612GD is also engineless explaining perhaps why some of the early ones remain a mystery.

My contributor wishes to remain anonymous

Random Gulfstream photo #32

Not long after the last random pic but think this is a bit of a scoop. Believe this is the first published pic of G500 N5117 (72020). It was caught by my Fort Lauderdale correspondent Alex Peake of it departing 10R from the wonderful park off Griffin Road (one of my favourite spots).

Round-up 29/1

Another quiet week. I'll start off with the resolution of my G5 query. It took nearly 4 weeks but finally appeared on the Isle of Man register as M-THOR so no real mystery in the end. G650 N670GA (6370) flew Savannah to Long Beach on the 28th as GLF76. 6372 has been flying from Savannah. G500s N522GD and N524GD have done flights lately and N533GD seems to be the highest that has flown.. Hopefully the 1st G500 delivery of the year isn't far away. N504GS did some flying at John Wayne, Orange County on the 24th, which has some of the strictest noise regulations in the country, before heading home to Savannah. Caught by Michael Carter. Continuing the G500 thread, Qatar Executive have now received a commercial licence for the type. See AINonline. One of them actually flew St.Petersburg-Brussels-St.Petersburg yesterday as QQE650.
Have brought the Zenfolio site up to date and finally, would like to share a link to a pic of a very rare bird. Gee Two pic on Flickr

Round-up 15/1

A 2 week edition although still not a lot to report. The latest G650 demonstrator N650GF (6341) is in service now and was seen at Liverpool just before Christmas. G280 N216GA (2166) ferried from Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 2nd. The next one doesn't seem to be far away. G650 N1895T (6346) flew from Long Beach to Savannah on the 14th using it's new registration suggesting delivery is imminent. Upgrades on the register to G650ER this period are 6347, 6348, 6349, 6359 and 6360. This now passes the 200 mark for ER conversions. A source has stated that the first G500 with the 7th window is #7 which should be the 2nd production aircraft. Without seeing a picture, I can't confirm but as numbers 6, 7 and 8 are likely to be for Flexjet (my guess only), this seems a little strange. As always, time will tell. Further to my post at the end of October, the new N305CC for Carnival Cruises has been identified as con 6348 and has had a slight change of paint scheme. Thanks as always to Michael Carter. Can't wait to see this at either Fort Lauderdale, where it will be based, or Luton. The old one (6021) is already flying as N300CC.

Round-up 25/12

Suppose I'd better start by wishing all my readers a Happy Christmas and a great 2019. Am fairly confident there will be plenty of Gulfstreams and news in the next 12 months.
But now, back to business. G650 N640GA (6340) flew from Appleton to Savannah on the 18th and returned to Appleton on the 20th suggesting a delivery may not be far away. How long it will take to report this is anyone's guess with the current US Government shutdown which has taken the FAA register with it. Looked like G650 N650TY (6109) was being re-delivered to Portland on the 19th but returned to Long Beach on the 20th. It departed LGB on the 22nd heading to Guam and then onwards to Manila the following day. G500 N5GG (72014) was delivered Savannah-Teterboro-Boston on the 19th to become the 9th delivery of the type. G500 N518GD (72018) did flights from Savannah to White Plains and back on the 19th and I understand took up it's registration of N188SW and was delivered to White Plains on the 21st to become the 10th delivered. Also on the 19th (a busy day for sure) G280 N965GA (2165) ferried from Tel Aviv to Belfast. It positioned down to Luton the following day for some TLC. It attempted to depart on the 22nd but had to return. Still present as I write.

N965GA seen departing Luton on the 22nd by John Lythgoe



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.

Round-up 18/12

A busy 7 days as Gulfstream try to get their delivery stats up. G550 N587GA (5587) appears to have made a first flight on the 11th from Savannah as GLF84. G650 N829AR (6338) ferried from Appleton to Savannah on the 11th and shortly after delivered to Washington Dulles. G650 VP-CSG (6085) returned to the US register as N608JG on the 11th. G650 N665GS (6365) ferried from Savannah to Long Beach on the 12th as GLF68. See pic below. G650 N988DJ (6143) cancelled to San Marino on the 12th and is believed to have taken up T7-ARN. G650 N557JF (6343) delivered from Savannah to Honolulu on the 13th, continuing on to Kunming, China via Guam. Another continuing delivery flight as G650 N9527C (6339) flew from Guam to Singapore Seletar on the 14th. G650 N235DX (6336) delivered from Bradley to Pittsburgh (as MLN235) on the 14th. G500 N261PC (72016) delivered from Savannah to Pittsburgh on the 14th to become the 5th delivery of type while G500 N5117 (72020) delivered from Savannah to Kansas City on the 16th and became the 6th. G500 N511GD (72011) cancelled from the US register to Qatar on the 14th and N515GD (72015) did the same on the 17th.

N665GS arriving at Long Beach by Michael Carter



Round-up 27/11

A lot to catch up with. G650 N828CC (6324) entered service on the 13th from St. Louis as GAJ12. On the same day, Exxon's N100A (6331) was delivered to East Texas (GGG). G500 N500H (72012) delivered Savannah to Santa Teresa (DNA) on the 15th. Appears to be the 2nd one based here. G650 M-ARDI (6337) was delivered to Ronaldsway on the 16th before continuing on to Biggin Hill. N635GD (6335) was cancelled to Zambia on the 16th and took up AF001. It arrived at Basel on the 21st for outfitting. See video N656GA (6356) flew from Savannah to Long Beach on the 19th. G650 N194WM was delivered to Boeing Field on the 19th. The following G650s were converted to ER on the register. 6337, 6341 and 6343. G280 N261GA (2161) flew Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 13th and N262GA (2162) ferried Tel Aviv to Belfast on the 22nd. Several more G500 reservations have appeared. See list in column to the right.

AF001 by Yann Parmentier via Scramble

Plenty of Gulfstream pics being added to my Flickr account this week from Florida.