Gulfstream Aerospace has begun preparing the next two G500s for flight. The first completed a handful of test flights after Gulfstream announced its new G500 and G600 family last October. They flew the first G500 on May 18, 2015, and the aircraft has since accumulated more than 15 hours in five flights, reaching speeds of Mach 0.80 and heights up to 38,500 feet. The longest flight lasted more than four hours.
“The first five flights exceeded our expectations,” Dan Nale, Senior Vice President of Programs, Engineering, and Test for Gulfstream, said. “They demonstrated that our testing facilities on the ground are having very real benefits in the air, allowing us to identify and address issues before they’re ever seen in flight.”
Gulfstream has decided on a few modifications to prepare for the next round of test flights. One of the unique aspects of Gulfstream’s approach is their use of customer involvement in the process of designing new jets. Similar to the customer involvement used in agile development style software design, Gulfstream allows their Customer Advisory Team to give feedback on what they want in the end product — and it’s become a working strategy. The G650 set the new standard for a large-cabin, ultra-long-range aircraft and it didn’t happen by chance. Instead of creating a G650 replacement, which was briefly rumored, Gulfstream listened to their customer team and created a matched pair of large cabin cruisers with slightly less range and just as much speed.
These new flagship aircraft models are in many ways more sophisticated, while costing millions less. They feature the most advanced avionics in the industry, the longest and most spacious cabins, and huge windows top it off — which Gulfstream originally pioneered on the G650. The cabin appears to be designed around the windows, with one for every individual seat, leaving an overall effect of great openness to go along with the quiet ride.
Certification of the G500 is expected in 2017, with the certification of the G600 following about a year later.
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