In September, Gulfstream saw its hard work and investment in new products pay off in the certification of not one but two business jets: the remarkable, clean-sheet Gulfstream G650 and the nearly equally remarkable Gulfstream G280 supermidsize model. I had the privilege of being the first non-company or government pilot to fly the G280.
As many of you probably know, the G280 is a derivative model, at least technically, of the G200, an airplane that started life as the IAI Galaxy. When Gulfstream purchased that program in 2001 (the smaller IAI Astra, on which the Galaxy was partially based, also was part of the deal), it brought into the Gulfstream family two airplanes that fit desirable lower-cost niches, into which Gulfstream wished to expand its lineup. In retrospect, Gulfstream likely planned all along to make major changes to both models over time to bring them up to its exacting standards.
