Business Jet med lange bein - Gulfstream G800 - AIN

 

October 5, 2021 View in browser   •   Email Editor

8,000-nm Gulfstream G800 Sets New Range Ceiling

Gulfstream Aerospace last night revealed a pair of new twinjets—the G400 and G800—that will bookend each side of its large-cabin jet family and expand that line to six aircraft, beyond the G500, G600, G650ER, and G700. Announced amid fanfare during a ceremony at Gulfstream’s Savannah, Georgia headquarters, the 8,000-nm G800 descends directly from the G650ER and throws down a new gauntlet for range in its category. (Jump to the next story to read about the G400.)

Three G800s are slated to take part in flight testing, with the first—dubbed T1—taxied via electric tug behind unsuspecting ceremony attendees as Gulfstream president Mark Burns talked about the new $71.5 million twinjet. T1 began taxiing under its own power last month in Savannah, and plans call for first flight by year-end and service entry in early 2023.

When the G800 eventually replaces the G650ER, all of Gulfstream’s large-cabin jets will have common flight decks—notably Honeywell Epic-based Symmetry avionics and BAE Systems active control sidesticks—that will make it easier for pilots to transition between these fly-by-wire aircraft. Further, the G700 and G800 will also have a common pilot rating.

The G700 and G800 share a wing, tail, and fuselage cross-section (though it retains the G650's length), in addition to Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 turbofans, which are on track to receive FAA certification early next year. While the G800 is intended to replace the G650ER, Burns said the latter jet—priced in the low $60 million range—will remain as a part of Gulfstream’s line-up for the foreseeable future as a “value” airplane.