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.

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

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

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.

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

Round-up 5/2

Things picking up a little. G650 N305CC (6348) delivered Long Beach-Bradley-Fort Lauderdale on the 31st. 6362 upgraded to an ER. G550 N589GA (5589) appears to have made a first flight on the 1st as GLF29. Great to see G550 5597 set to be a demonstrator "suggesting" that GAC have customers up to at least 5596 meaning reaching the 600 mark is a distinct possibility. A few changes include G550 M-UGIC transferring to Ireland (no new reg known yet) although still appears to be at Stansted and newly delivered  G550 M-OPHS moving over to the Luxembourg register (again no new registration known). G650 N303HM (6345) flew Appleton to Savannah on the 3rd and then delivered to Denver CO on the 4th. Finally, certification of the G600 has slipped blamed partly on the US Government shutdown. Hoping to be completed by end of Q2. See www.flightglobal.com/

M-UGIC back in 2013 at Luton

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 22/1

Another quiet week. G550 N588GA (5588) appears to have made it's first flight from Savannah on the 14th using the callsign GLF74. G280 N267GA (2167) ferried Tel Aviv to Stansted on the 15th. G650 N1895T returned from Savannah to Long Beach on the 18th following a test flight. Whispers about the next generation of G280 are surfacing. See AINonline
G5 N514GV that I reported as cancelling to the Isle of Man is becoming a bit of a mystery. It has not appeared on their register and I've dropped them a line but to date have not heard back. I'm wondering if some tired unpaid FAA clerk has entered the wrong country. Have previously seen a G450 as cancelled to Australia that actually went to Austria. This suggests to me that it's a drop down list and the IoM may be an error for either Ireland or Israel. The latest Irish update as at 31st December shows nothing so it might have gone to Israel. Any better ideas most welcome.
With the World Economic Forum (WEF) starting today, am expecting a lot of Gulfstreams to be heading that way. Unfortunately, I'm not this year but wish those who go well.

The 2015 WEF at Zurich

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 1/1

Happy New Year. More to report this week than I anticipated. The FAA register came back up on Thursday which has helped the cause. The previously mentioned N640GA (6340) cancelled to Bermuda on the 21st and took up VQ-BCT. This sounds like a replacement for VP-BCT but info received suggests it isn't. Former demonstrator N650ER (6306) was cancelled to Guernsey on the 27th but no new registration has come to light yet. G550 N584GA (5584) has been registered to L3 Communications suggesting this will be a special mission aircraft. G5 N514GV (514) cancelled to the IoM on the 28th. Again, no new registration yet. G280 N965GA finally left Luton on the 29th continuing it's flight to Halifax. New ERs this period were 6346 and 6358. Somewhat belatedly, Gulfstream have announced the delivery of the 2 Qatar G500s. See gulfstreamnews.com

via GAC