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Gulfstream Provides Updates at EBACE

Major bizjet player makes progress with new products and shows continued commitment to clean energy.

Gulfstream Aerospace announced yesterday at EBACE in Geneva, Switzerland, that its long-range flag bearer of the current fleet, the G650ER, has received EASA certification for private operations (including charter), up to 100,000 pounds. In the meantime, the G650ER has set records, showing off its dance with Mach 0.90 during its latest flight from Teterboro Airport, in New Jersey, to Nice Côte d’Azur Aeroport, in France, clocked at 6 hours, 22 minutes.

Gulfstream intends to coax the same speed from its G500/G600 series, with four aircraft in varying stages of flight test. In fact, Scott Neal, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, noted that the first G500 aircraft has tasted Mach 0.995 as part of widening the flight envelope. The brand-new jets utilize an active-control sidestick, with force feedback to ensure both pilots feel response from both the aircraft and any input from the other pilot. Also on board, the proprietary Symmetry Flight Deck features 10 touch-screen interfaces in the cockpit, based on Honeywell’s Primus Epic avionics suite.

The G500 and G600 share a common type rating, and the company has partnered with FlightSafety International to create the first flight simulator for the type, now operational at the company’s facility in Savannah, Georgia. An additional non-motion flight simulation training device allows potential pilots to try out emergency operations and get a feel for the ergonomics of the jet. The goal was to have the training devices operational prior to the first flight of the G500, said Neal, a milestone met by the company. Both the G500 and G600 are on track for 2018 and 2019 deliveries, respectively.

Gulfstream also continues to lead on the clean energy front, indicating that the G450 and G550 on display at EBACE this week were powered to the show using a renewable fuel blend currently undergoing long-term testing in the company’s corporate fleet. “In 2011, the G450 was the first business jet to cross the Atlantic using biofuels,” said Mark Burns, president of Gulfstream, at the company’s press conference yesterday. “The G450 and G550 flights to Geneva are the first trans-Atlantic flights made using our own renewable fuel supply.”

Check out some of the business jets on display at this year’s EBACE. Photo Gallery

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