Gulfstream Aerospace is showing a revised G600 cabin mockup based on customer feedback since the original announcement of the G600 and G650 in October 2015.
The company slimmed the passenger service unit, expanded a side ledge, added counter space in the galley, improved lighting, and added stone flooring in the entryway and forward lavatory, among other enhancements. “The G600 is the longest cabin in its class,” the company claimed, “and can be configured for up to four living areas.”
In other news the Gulfstream G650 and G650ER aircraft have been approved by the FAA to fly Required Navigation Performance with Authorization Required (RNP AR) approaches. Gulfstream G650 and G650ER aircraft that are equipped with PlaneView II and the Aircraft Service Change 901 software upgrade can fly approaches with tighter limits. The approaches “use global positioning and inertial navigation reference systems to fly predetermined paths that have been loaded onto the aircraft’s flight management computer,” Gulfstream explained in a press release. “The paths, which are navigated using the Flight Guidance Control System, allow pilots to fly safer, more direct and lower minimum approaches at airports with restricted navigation routing.”
Finally, Gulfstream will send three new custom-equipped vehicles to the Seattle, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., areas by the end of 2015. “With these additions, Gulfstream will have eight rapid-response vehicles available to complement the maintenance provided by the company’s eight service centers across the U.S.,” the company said.
Gulfstream debuts G500
NBAA 2015 marks the first public appearance—and the first cross-country flight—of Gulfstream’s newest large-cabin, long-range twinjet, the G500. The first flight-test airplane, dubbed T-1, is now on display at the Henderson Executive Airport in nearby Henderson, Nevada. The airplane made the 1,630-nautical-mile flight from the Gulfstream factory in Savannah, Georgia, to Henderson in four hours, 36 minutes at its long-range cruise speed of Mach 0.85. So far, T-1 has flown 160 hours in 44 test flights, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 0.995, and a maximum altitude of 50,000 feet. One test flight lasted five hours, 22 minutes. The second and third flight test airplanes—T-2 and T-3—are being prepared for first flights later this year.
Meanwhile, work has begun on Gulfstream’s next long-range airplane, the G600. Its first test airplane is currently under construction. First flight is expected in 2017, with certification anticipated in 2018 and entry into service in 2019.
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