The 400th* Gulfstream GVI Enters Service

Almost two weeks ago, on December 5, Gulfstream Aerospace announced that the 400th Gulfstream GVI had been delivered. It was the delivery of the 400th unit built. Serial number 6400, registered as N651MP, was flown to its new base at Birmingham, AL. Since then, the same owner has received its second G650ER - N652MP / 6405.

Today, a business aviation milestone was reached when the 400th* Gulfstream GVI entered service. Serial number 6401, registered as A7-CGG, flew overnight as QQE460 from Savannah, GA to Stansted, UK. Notably, it is Qatar Executive W.L.L.'s seventh G650ER. The Doha-based operator now has the world's largest fleet of the type.

The 400 GVIs delivered to date include 156 G650s and 244 G650ERs.

This remarkable event comes almost seven years to the day after the first two G650s were delivered on December 20, 2012. Serial number 6007 was delivered to Wynn Resorts as N711SW and serial number 6010 was accepted by Exxon Mobil as N100A.

 The EIS of the 400th GVI represents an average production rate of 4.75 units per month during the past seven years. A mighty impressive number for Gulfstream's flagship model.

* this number represents fully furnished aircraft and excludes airframes 6001 and 6002 that served as flight test aircraft for GAC.

G650ER (serial number 6087) N650GA  at Dulles, Virginia.

Photo by Frederick K. Larkin

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 21/5

G280 N978GA (2178) ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 14th. G550 N223A (5583) delivered to Houston on the 16th. A couple of potential G650 first flights with N690GA (6390) on the 16th and N691GA (6391) on the 19th. New upgrades to G650ER this period were 6365, 6378 and 6382. Gulfstream report that G600  certification is hopefully not far off. See gulfstreamnews.com Also European certification at about the same time meaning deliveries to Europe can commence.

Sad news that a classic Gulfstream crashed in Guatemala on the 18th. Details at aviation-safety.net which should get updated as info is received. Drug running looks like the most likely scenario.

N213X pictured at Shannon in 2010 (via Flightaware)

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 30/4

G650 N685GD (6385) ferried Savannah to Long Beach on the 24th. 6363 became an ER on the register. G280 N277GA (2177) ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 29th.
Q1 results from General Dynamics show a strong quarter helped by 7 G500s in the totals. 20 large cabin machines were delivered. G280s remain at the same level with 7 being delivered.
Many thanks to Iain for finding a pic of G-VIOF on airport-data.com Similar to the last scheme but with rings round the engines now.

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 16/4

G280 N275GA (2175) ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 10th. It was followed on the 12th by N276GA (2176). Looks like Belfast has been knocked on the head as the last 8 have now gone through Stansted. G650 N684GA (6384) looks to have made a first flight on the 12th from Savannah. An unusual ferry flight the same day as N683GD (6383) flew Savannah to Long Beach via Mexicali, Mexico and Yuma. Don't recall a greenie going over the border like this before. 6366 is now a G650ER. A picture has appeared of OE-LLL (link) but still to find one of G-VIOF. A pic of G550 N991JS (link) shows it to be in the colours of Sandals Resorts. Very nice. The recent longest biz jet flight was undertaken by N282GA (6282) which GAC are now using.
Today's picture comes from Eric the Pilot who caught a pair of G650s at Teterboro recently.

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.

Long Beach G650 Update

A couple of pictures from based photographer Michael Carter taken earlier this year but possibly more relevant now that IDs are known. N4050 (6368) is probably a replacement for G550 N3050 (5096) operated by PayPal of San Jose. N232G (6365) certainly reminds me of G550 N10XG (5186) which is operated by Google. Hopefully some nice flying pictures will appear soon.
Talking of pics, a lot have been added to the Latest Uploads page of the photo site so check 'em out before the next lot arrives.

Round-up 2/4

End of quarter proved fairly busy. First off though, to complete the previous post re Enterprise G500s. N628GD did indeed take up N56EL as predicted. G650 deliveries this period included N650GB (6351) which was delivered from Appleton to Stewart (home of American Express) on the 29th although returned shortly after to Appleton. On the same day, N887WM (6357) was delivered via Boise to Bill Gates to become his 2nd. Finally, G-VIOF (6355) delivered Appleton to Bristol on the 30th to become the 3rd for James Dyson. G650 N653GA (6353) was cancelled to Austria on the 29th as OE-LLL. Delivery is imminent if not already,
G550 N772BE (5582) delivered on the 28th and appears to be based between Dulles and Harrisburg PA.
First pictures of G500 N100JS (72023) are appearing following the arrival at Rotterdam on the 31st. Thanks to Frank de Koster for the lovely shot below.

Round-up 26/3

G650 9H-OKO (6356) delivered to Malta as EMM011 on the 21st. Also this day, G650 N390ER (6358) was delivered to Stewart NY. Future G650 demonstrator N674GA (6374 N650ER res) flew from Savannah to Appleton the same day for completion. G550 N592GA (5592) appears to have made a first flight from Savannah on the 22nd. Also of interest on the 22nd, G500 N202KR did test flights from Savannah using the new registration which was taken up on the register that night. This is believed to be replacing G450 N450KR (4044). Actually departed Savannah on delivery on the 24th flying to Naples FL before continuing on to Washington DCA. G280 N274GA (2174) ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 25th.
Back at "work" now and caught this new G550 at Luton on Sunday.

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

View from the office window

When you work at Fort Lauderdale and your office overlooks the ramp, it must be difficult to get much work done. Guess that's just me as Alex Peake manages to do both.

Canadian Gulfstreams - Part 6

During the past 60 years, three key specifications have driven the evolution of corporate jet design. They are: range, speed and cabin size. A new standard was set with the first flight of the Gulfstream G650 on November 25, 2009. It can fly 7,000NM at Mach .85 - a 17% improvement on the G550's maximum range of 6,000NM at M.85. Perhaps more importantly, the G650 can travel 6,000NM at M.90. Gulfstream has since introduced an enhanced fuel capacity modification that is available for G650s either in service or on order. The G650ER can fly 7,500NM at M.85 or 6,400NM at M.90.

Not to be left behind, Bombardier has responded with its new Global 7500. While it and the G650ER share the same published long-range cruise speed of M.85, high-speed cruise speed of M.90 and top speed of M.925, the Global 7500 has an advertised maximum range of 7,700NM versus the G650ER's 7,500NM. The most significant difference between the two aircraft appears to be cabin size. Assuming the installation of a dedicated crew rest station aft of the cockpit, the G650ER has a three zone cabin, while the Global 7500's longer fuselage accommodates a four zone cabin.

Given that more than 400 G650s/G650ERs have been ordered to date, it will be interesting to see how large the market ultimately is for corporate jets that cost more than US$65 million.

Of the more than 340 Gulfstream G650s/G650ERs currently operating, so far only two wear Canadian registrations. The first example, a G650 (6162, C-GNDN), was delivered new to a family in Calgary in December 2015. Having previously had a G450 and a G550, this upgrade might have been expected. The second unit is a G650ER (6252, C-FYRC). It had previously served as a Gulfstream Aerospace demonstrator before being purchased by a Calgary investor in November 2017.

Photo of 6252 at Montreal by Bill Fawcett.

Photo of 6162 at Farnborough by Bob Holland.

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

Random Gulfstream photo #35

Eric the Pilot is back on his travels and has kindly sent me this picture of G650 N555GA (6334) at Brunswick GA recently. Had arrived from it's base of Dallas Love Field a couple of days earlier. It would have been rude not to share it, I thought.

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

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 19/2

G650 N652GD (6352) flew from Long Beach to Savannah on the 12th. It was cancelled to the Czech Republic (as was expected) to OK-VEA and then delivered overnight 18th/19th from Savannah to Prague as ABP941. G450 M-AAMM took up OE-ITC.  G550 M-UGIC (5406) took up EI-EGO and was delivered from Stansted to Shannon on the 14th. Looks like G550 N590GA (5590) did a first flight from Savannah on the 14th. G650 N1895T positioned to Bradley on the 18th which is usually the last stop before delivery.
Info suggests that G500 N521GD is for Qatar. Their 3rd I assume. Did a nearly 9 hour test flight on the 16th.
On a personal note, I would usually be found in Florida at this time of year but unfortunately am not quite up to it. I'll therefore take us back to 2009 and one particular highlight.