Heavy Jets

Gulfstream has resumed flight testing of its G650 business jet nearly two months after the crash of a test aircraft during takeoff at Roswell, New Mexico, that killed all four Gulfstream employees on board. “We have conducted all the necessary reviews to assure ourselves that we can safely resume the flight-test program at this point,” […]

Dassault Aviation has grounded its entire fleet of 112 Falcon 7Xs after one airplane experienced a pitch trim issue during a descent. The crew was able to control the airplane and landed successfully. However, as a safety precaution, Dassault requested directives from EASA and the FAA for a temporary suspension all 7X operations until the […]

Despite the lingering recession, in late November, Gulfstream reached yet another 2009 milestone when company test pilots made the successful first flight of the newest Gulfstream business jet, the ultralong-range G650. The flight was unusually short, just 12 minutes, as the pilots, Jake Howard and Tom Horne, along with flight engineer Bill Osborne, returned for […]

I have been to dozens of new airplane rollouts in the last 30-plus years, and I was amazed when the all-new Gulfstream G650 taxied into view at a rollout ceremony in late September under its own power. That just doesn’t happen. Rollout ceremonies are usually a party to show that the airplane is getting close, […]

Compared with that of the Falcon 900EX, the composite and metal wing of the FNX will be longer, thinner and more highly swept. Dassault’s latest Falcon Jet, code named FNX, will be the fastest, roomiest and most modern the company has ever produced. First flight for the French jet is scheduled for 2004. The FNX […]