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Introducing the G650—Gulfstream’s new flagship
Gulfstream announced its latest product—the G650—on Mar 13 before several thousand company workers, guests and officials, headed by General Dynamics Chairman & CEO Nick Chabraja, Gulfstream Aerospace President Joe Lombardo and Senior VP Programs, Engineering & Test Pres Henne. The biggest, fastest, longest-range business jet yet to come out of Savannah, the G650 is a clean-sheet design developed over the past 3 years and filling a market gap between the G550 and the airliner-derived Airbus A319CJ and Boeing BBJ. Powered by 2 new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce BR725 turbofans, each producing 16,100 lb max takeoff thrust, Gulfstream’s new flagship will fly more than 7000 nm at Mach 0.85 (compared with the G550’s 6000 nm) and 5000 nm at Mach 0.90. MTOW is approximately 100,000 lb. Max operating speed is Mach 0.925, which will make the G650 the fastest civil aircraft on the market. A newly designed fuselage cross section gives the G650 cabin 14 inches more width and 3 inches more height than the G550. The cabin has 30% more floor area and will seat 11–18 passengers in any of 12 optional “select” floorplans. Cabin altitude will be 4850 ft at FL 510—lowest in its class—and the G650’s 8 windows per side will be 16% larger than current Gulfstream windows, making them the largest of any business jet.
Gulfstream is aiming to create efficiencies at all stages of the G650’s life. The company conceived and built the newly completed 308,000 sq ft G650 manufacturing facility at SAV (Savannah GA) to allow implementation of lean manufacturing techniques. Gulfstream engineers used CATIA V5, ENOVIA 3D and CFD extensively in designing and optimizing the G650, achieving significant improvements in aerodynamics and efficiency over the G550. Time between major inspections is projected at 600 hours. Its construction makes more use of composites than previous Gulfstream aircraft, notably in the wing/body fairing (by Nordam), radome (Saint-Gobain), wing fixed trailing edges, winglets and engine cowlings (Spirit) and empennage components (Stork Fokker). The fuselage uses bonded skin panels, machined frames and precision assembly. Gulfstream says its aim is a 50% reduction both in part numbers and part counts. The wing is larger (and 8% more efficient) than the G550 wing, with a 33° sweep and continuously variable airfoil. It retains a fixed leading edge. Overall wingspan is 99 ft 7 in. Avionics suite will be Gulfstream’s PlaneView II flightdeck, based on the Honeywell Primus Epic. SV-PFD, EVS II and Rockwell Collins HGS6000 HUD will be standard. Thales will develop the G650’s 3-axis FBW flight control computer system. Gulfstream is working toward first flight in the 2nd half of 2009 and says 5 aircraft will take part in the flight test program. FAA and EASA certification are expected in 2011, with entry into service in the 1st half of 2012. As a new design, the G650 will have a separate type certificate, but the goal is to have a common pilot type rating with the G550 (with minor differences training). Gulfstream predicts that this will make the G650 attractive to customers planning a diversified fleet as well as to fleet buyers. That said, there is no program in place for G550 customers to migrate to the G650. Flyaway price for a G650 will be $58.5 million (in 2012 dollars), rising to $59.5 million in 2013. Gulfstream elected to have no actual launch customer, but Lombardo says the company will start taking orders in mid-April. —Phil Rose
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Unveiled at last—and shown in model form on Mar 13—the G650 is the most technologically advanced product yet to emerge from Savannah. Gulfstream’s risk-sharing partners on the G650 include Goodrich, Honeywell, Meggitt, Rolls-Royce, Spirit and Stork Fokker.
Gulfstream designers began with the G650’s cabin—a generously lit space with 30% more floor area than the G550 and optional floorplans for seating up to 18 passengers.
IndustryDassault’s Falcon 2000DX has entered service. The French manufacturer recently delivered the first production 2000DX—which takes the place of the Falcon 2000 in Dassault’s family of business jets—to an undisclosed customer in the western US. First flight of the 3250-nm 2000DX occurred in Jul 2007 with FAA certification in Oct 2007. Powered by 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PW308Cs, the aircraft features Dassault’s EASy flightdeck with enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) available as an option. Honda Aircraft has announced plans to sell its HondaJet in Mexico and Canada. Under an agreement with Honda, Servicios Aéreos Estrella (SAE) will establish a HondaJet sales and service center at TLC (Toluca, Mexico). SAE—which runs an FBO at the airport—has begun taking orders from Mexico-based customers. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2012. In relation to the SAE agreement, Honda has received a 10-aircraft order from Aerolíneas Ejécutivas, which will use the HondaJets for its Mexjet charter fleet from TLC and NTR (Intl, Monterrey del Norte, Mexico). For Canadian customers, Honda has launched sales from its headquarters at GSO (Intl, Greensboro NC). The company’s network of regional service centers will provide support for operators in Canada. CharterGama Holdings has acquired PrivatAir, the US division of European aircraft charter, management and sales provider PrivatAir Group. With headquarters at FAB (Farnborough, England), Gama offers charter and management, maintenance and medical transport around the world, including an existing US office at TEB (Teterboro NJ). Acquisition of PrivatAir’s US operations, which are based at BDR (Bridgeport CT), raises the fleet of Gama-operated business jets to more than 60. The company will be renamed Gama Aviation and continue to operate from BDR. PrivatAir CEO Greg Thomas says that PrivatAir will focus on its European business, adding that the “current buoyancy of the US private aviation market makes it the perfect time to sell our US division.” Ventura Air Services of FRG (Republic, Farmingdale NY) has incorporated a Bombardier Learjet 35A into its charter fleet. Refurbished in 2004, the 8-passenger Learjet 35A joins a charter fleet that includes a Learjet 55 and a Eurocopter AS350B AStar. |
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ARINC Direct has moved into a 50,000 sq ft corporate/GA aircraft maintenance center at SDL (Scottsdale AZ). The company, which has operated on the northeast corner of SDL for 4 years, transitioned into the expanded complex in February. It features 40,000 sq ft of hangar space, 5000 sq ft of offices and 5000 sq ft of shop space for sheet metal, avionics and interiors. General Mgr Jorge Gonzalez points out that SDL serviced and modified around 1000 aircraft in 2007, from large business jets to single-engine pistons.
Cessna launches mobile service for Citations
When circumstances won’t allow the Citation to come to the service center, a new Cessna program brings the service center to the Citation. Cessna’s new Mobile Service Unit (MSU) brings qualified Citation mechanics to customer aircraft in a specially outfitted truck. Since Jun 2007, the first Citation service truck has been operating from SAT (Intl, San Antonio TX) to locations primarily in Texas and Louisiana, performing more than 100 service orders ranging from routine avionics maintenance to Citation X engine exchanges. The unit logged more than 28,000 miles in its first 9 months. “Customer reaction to date has been so exceptional that we plan to put more of these units in the field to meet customer demand as soon as we can,” says Cessna VP of Service Facilities Stan Younger. The SAT-based prototype is the forerunner of 3 more MSUs currently in production and other movable service centers planned for the future, adds Younger. “I think they’re going to need quite a few of these, because they are very handy,” says Jake Bledsoe, senior pilot for Will-Flite Aviation, which flies a CitationJet and a CJ3 from TAC Air at SHV (Regional, Shreveport LA). With Citation maintenance responsibilities for an area as large as Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico, SAT General Mgr Bobby Jones was looking for another way to serve his Cessna customers. “I’d rather put a few miles on a truck than ask our customers to spend their time, money and flight hours, if at all possible,” he says. The $250,000 MSU has a 28-ft boom capable of hoisting 6000 lbs—well above the necessary lifting power for the Citation X’s Rolls-Royce AE3007s. It also has a ground power unit, a compressor, jacks to lift any model Citation, a rear-mounted lift for tooling and parts, and a hydraulic mule that lets the truck cycle the landing gear. Jones plans to base the prototype—which is usually busy 5 days a week—in Houston permanently. The other 3 in-production trucks will be located on the US east and west coasts, according to Younger. Cessna’s Citation service team plans to take the unit on the road for various national events, including the NBAA Convention in Orlando this October. Cessna hopes its new MSU will rewrite the way bizjet owners and operators schedule and budget their ongoing maintenance requirements. |
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Technicians work on a Citation X’s Rolls-Royce AE3007 using Cessna’s new Mobile Service Unit, which carries A&P mechanics and a full stock of parts.
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Midcoast Aviation has promoted Steve Bates to VP of completions and modifications at its CPS (Downtown, St Louis MO) location. Since joining Midcoast in Aug 1976, Bates has held a number of positions, including director of program management, senior program manager and director of the Bombardier Challenger program. He was most recently senior director of maintenance sales and product management.
Joseph Smith is the new senior quality manager for Leominister MA-based Alto Aviation. An IPC620 certified registered instructor, Smith previously worked for Temp Flex Cable of South Grafton MA.
Flight Display Systems (FDS) and the Maintenance Group have received a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the Ellipse satellite TV system. FAA approval involves Ellipse installation on the Bombardier Challenger 600, with a pending amendment for the Challenger 601–605 series. FDS Pres David Gray says the dorsal-mounted system is applicable to almost any business jet or turboprop, and the companies are pursuing STCs for various Cessna Citation, Dassault Falcon and Hawker models, as well as the Gulfstream II/III/IV/IVSP. KVH Industries of Middletown RI manufactures the phased array, mechanically steered antenna for the Ellipse system. Total weight is 69 lbs. At a base price of just under $100,000, Gray says the unit is about 1/3 the cost of competing systems. Installation is less as well, requiring around 100 hours—or about 3 days—at a cost of $45,000–50,000. Maintenance Group will hold the STC and perform installation of Ellipse, which Alpharetta GA-based FDS designed. (Above) Maintenance Group Pres Dan Furlong (L) and Gray celebrate receipt of the STC.
Donald Lopez, deputy director of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, died on Mar 3 following a heart attack. He was 84. Lopez flew as part of the 23rd Fighter Group of the US Army Air Force in China, flying Curtiss P40s and North American P51s, earning recognition as an ace. He also served as a US Air Force test pilot before retiring in 1964, when he went on to become a systems engineer for Bellcomm. Lopez began working for the Smithsonian in 1972, when he was part of a group responsible for opening the Air & Space Museum. In 1983 he became director of the museum, serving in the role until 1990 before becoming senior advisor to the director and then retiring in 1993. From 1993 until 1996 Lopez was the museum’s senior advisor emeritus, and was appointed deputy director in 1996. He is survived by his wife, Glindel, 2 children and 1 granddaughter.