Gulfstream.com is best viewed with Flash Player 8. Gulfstream History
The History of Gulfstream: 1958 - 2008
The Beginning
The company
that evolved into Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. started in the late 1950s when
Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co., a company known for military aircraft production,
developed a marketable business aircraft at its manufacturing facilities in
Bethpage, N.Y. Dubbed the Gulfstream I (GI), the turbo-prop aircraft
was named after the Gulf Stream, the current that flows along the coast of
Florida, which was a favored vacationing spot for Grumman executives. The
GI could sit 12 passengers comfortably, had a maximum speed of 350 mph at 25,000
feet and a range of 2,200 miles. The newly developed aircraft, the first of
its kind designed specifically for business travel, was a success in the business
world, prompting Grumman to develop a jet-powered corporate aircraft called
the Gulfstream II or GII.
The ‘60s
At the start
of the GII program, Grumman officials separated the company’s civil and
military aircraft production to improve efficiency. In 1966, they relocated
the civilian component to Savannah, Ga. There they found the needed supply
of skilled labor, an established airfield adjacent to the plant site and sufficient
acreage for expansion. Transportation facilities suitable for heavy equipment
and machinery and weather favorable to year-round flight-testing and flight-training
operations further enhanced Savannah’s appeal. The new building
in Chatham County opened in June 1967 and was officially dedicated on Sept.
29, 1967. It housed production and flight testing for the GII. The
100-person work force that built the GII was 90 percent local and grew to more
than 1,700 within a few years.
The ‘70s
In 1972,
Grumman merged with light-aircraft manufacturer American Aviation Corp. The
256th and final GII delivery took place in 1977. One year later, the
Gulfstream line and the Savannah plant were sold to American Jet Industries,
which was headed by little-known aviation entrepreneur Allen Paulson. Paulson
became the president and CEO of the company, renaming it Gulfstream America. He
made a priority of developing the Gulfstream III, a new aircraft designed to
achieve greater range and speed than the GII. The GIII made its first
flight in December 1979, with the first delivery of the aircraft occurring
in 1980. It was the first business jet to fly over both poles.
Gulfstream Takes Flight - The ‘80s
In 1981,
Gulfstream introduced the Gulfstream GIIB. The GIIB had a modified GII
fuselage and the GIII wings, complete with winglets. The variant offered
weight and performance characteristics similar to the GIII, but with the shorter
GII fuselage. Gulfstream completed and delivered approximately 40 GIIBs.
Under Paulson’s
leadership, the Savannah work force grew to 2,500 employees by the spring of
1982. Also in this year, the company’s name changed to Gulfstream
Aerospace Corp. to reflect its worldwide scope, and a new plane, the Gulfstream
IV, was conceived. The following year, Gulfstream offered a total of
8.8 million shares of its stock to the public. In 1985, Chrysler Corp.
acquired Gulfstream as a part of the automaker’s plan to diversify and
move into high-tech industries. This was also the year that Gulfstream
first appeared on the Fortune 500 list, at No. 417. Two years later,
the 200th and last Gulfstream III produced was delivered, and the first delivery
of a Gulfstream IV took place. The GIV was the first jet in business
aviation to have an all-glass cockpit. In 1989, when Chrysler decided
to sell Gulfstream, Paulson teamed up with Forstmann Little & Co. – a
private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts – and bought Gulfstream
back.
The ‘90s
The decade
that followed the 1989 repurchase was a time of significant advancements for
Gulfstream. The company signed a five-year contract with NetJets in 1994. It
completed the Gulfstream V Integration Test Facility and rolled out the GV – the
first ultra-long range business jet – in 1995. The opening of a
$16 million Savannah service center with 136,000 square feet of hangar space
followed in 1996. In 1997, Gulfstream began the simultaneous manufacture
of two different aircraft models – the GIV-SP and the GV. Within
a few months of the GV’s first delivery in June 1997, it set nearly 40
city-pair and/or speed and distance records, and its industry team was awarded
the 1997 Robert J. Collier Trophy, the highest honor in aeronautics or astronautics
in North America.
Gulfstream: A General Dynamics Company – The New Millenium
At the end
of the 1990s, General Dynamics, a giant in the defense industry, purchased Gulfstream.
The company focused on enhancing product performance and lowering costs. It
opened a $5.5 million aircraft refurbishment and completions support facility
in Savannah in 2000. In 2001, it acquired Galaxy Aerospace and with it, the mid-size
Astra SPX and super mid-size Galaxy, which were later rebranded the G100 and
G200, respectively. Also in 2001, Gulfstream purchased four U.S.
maintenance facilities in Dallas; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; and West Palm Beach,
Fla. Those service centers, along with a Gulfstream facility in Westfield,
Mass., formed General Dynamics Aviation Services, which maintains and repairs
Gulfstreams and other business-jet aircraft.
In 2002, Gulfstream
renamed its products, using Arabic numerals instead of Roman numerals to differentiate
its aircraft. At the time, the company’s heavy-hitting lineup included
the ultra long-range G550 and G500, the long-range G400, the mid-range G300 and
G200, and the high-speed G100. 2002 was also the year that Gulfstream introduced
its Airborne Product Support aircraft, a specially equipped G100. It is
used to deliver parts and provide any-time service to Gulfstream customers in
North America and the Caribbean who are operating aircraft under warranty. In
2003, Gulfstream acquired a service center at the London-Luton Airport, the first
Gulfstream-owned service center to be operated outside the United States. Also,
in 2003, the long-range G450 was introduced, and the large-cabin, mid-range G350
was presented a year later. In 2004, Gulfstream was awarded the 2003 Collier
Trophy for the development of the G550. It was the second time in less
than a decade that Gulfstream had won the award. The G550 is the first
civil aircraft to receive a Type Certificate issued by the FAA that includes
an Enhanced Vision System (EVS) as standard equipment on an aircraft. The
aircraft also contained the first cockpit to incorporate PlaneView®, an integrated
avionics suite featuring four 14-inch liquid crystal displays in landscape format.
A Leader in Innovation
In 2005,
Gulfstream became the first business-jet manufacturer to offer an in-flight,
ultra-high-speed Internet connection – its Broad Band Multi-Link (BBML)
system. Gulfstream was also the first to design and develop a means of
reducing the sonic boom caused by an aircraft “breaking” the sound
barrier – the Quiet Spike. The Quiet Spike is a telescopic nose
device that softens the effect of the sonic boom by smoothing the pressure
wave created by flying at the speed of sound.
In 2006,
the 22-year production run of the G100 ended and the G150 entered service to
take its place. The G150 was the first business jet to be certified by
the FAA for Stage 4, the industry’s most stringent noise standards. Also
in 2006, Gulfstream announced plans to expand its manufacturing and service
facilities in Savannah. The seven-year, $400 million Long-Range Facilities
Master Plan included the creation of a new 624,588-square-foot service center,
an independent fuel farm, a 42,600-square-foot, state-of-the-art paint hangar
and the addition of a new Sales and Design Center. As a result of the
expansion, employment at the facility was expected to grow by some 1,100 jobs. To
meet the immediate need for engineering office space, Gulfstream opened a Research
and Development Center (RDC). The RDC accommodates approximately 750
technical and engineering employees.
The year
2007 also saw its share of major breakthroughs. In April, Gulfstream
broke ground for a new business-jet manufacturing building at its headquarters
in Savannah. The following month, the company signed a nine-year lease
with North Point Real Estate for a second Research and Development Center. The
RDC II consists of an office building, which can accommodate some 550 employees,
and a Laboratory Building, which is designed for 150 employees and test equipment
used in Gulfstream’s research and development efforts. Gulfstream
completed the new Sales and Design Center addition in June and officially opened
the first phase of the new Savannah Service Center in August. In 2007,
Gulfstream also tested its Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display (SV-PFD)
and EVS II together for the first time. The SV-PFD is a dramatic enhancement
to the Gulfstream PlaneView flight displays. It features a three-dimensional
color image of terrain overlaid with the primary flight display instrument
symbology, which are arranged on the screen to create a large-view area for
terrain. By early 2008, the FAA had certified both EVS II and SV-PFD.
From the very first days, Gulfstream aircraft have been adapted for government and military use. Today, 34 governments operate Gulfstream jets and 22 countries, including the United States, use Gulfstream aircraft to transport their heads-of-state. In addition to their traditional role of executive transportation, Gulfstream aircraft have also been reconfigured and equipped to serve and be involved in missions as diverse as priority cargo and personnel transportation, maritime and aerial reconnaissance, medical evacuation and pilot and astronaut training. The advanced technology, safety, reliability and adaptability of the aircraft make them as attractive to government and military operators as they are to international and Fortune 500 corporate operators.
Continuing to Soar
On
March 13, 2008, Gulfstream made aviation history
when it unveiled the Gulfstream G650®,
the largest, most technologically advanced
aircraft in the Gulfstream fleet. The
G650 offers the longest range, fastest speed,
largest cabin, and the most advanced cockpit. It
is capable of traveling 7,000 nautical miles
at 0.85 Mach or 5,000 nautical miles at 0.90
Mach. Using an advanced aerodynamic design,
the G650 has a maximum operating speed of 0.925
Mach, which will make it the fastest civil
aircraft flying. It can climb to a maximum
altitude of 51,000 feet, allowing it to avoid
airline-traffic congestion and adverse weather.
A Continued Commitment to Service
Gulfstream
puts as much effort into maintaining its aircraft
as it does into manufacturing them. Toward
that end, Gulfstream and General Dynamics Aviation
Services each own and operate six service centers
for a total of 12 worldwide. “Aviation
International News” named Gulfstream Product
Support the best in the industry for each of the
past five years. Gulfstream was also named
No. 1 in product support for eight of the past
10 years by “Professional Pilot” magazine’s
Corporate Aircraft Product Support Survey.
Today, Gulfstream
employs more than 9,700 people at seven major locations: Savannah, Ga.; Appleton,
Wis.; Dallas; Long Beach, Calif.; Brunswick, Ga.; London, England and Mexicali,
Mexico. With 50 successful years in the industry, Gulfstream is The World
Standard® in business aviation. Gulfstream Aerospace looks forward
to the future – to the completion of the Master Plan, the delivery of
the first G650, and beyond.
(Sources: Gulfstream Aerospace Archives and “The Legend of Gulfstream” by Jeffrey L. Rodengen)
The Gulfstream Fleet TodayThe Gulfstream product line offers an exceptional combination of price, performance and value-added customer preferences in each segment of the mid-cabin to ultra-large-cabin business-jet market.
The ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G650, powered by two of
the new Rolls-Royce BR725 engines, offers the longest range, fastest speed,
largest cabin and the most-advanced cockpit in the Gulfstream fleet. It is
capable of traveling 7,000 nautical miles at 0.85 Mach or 5,000 nautical miles
at 0.90 Mach. Using an advanced aerodynamic design, the G650 has a maximum
operating speed of 0.925 Mach, which will make it the fastest civil aircraft
flying. It can climb to a maximum altitude of 51,000 feet, allowing it to avoid
airline-traffic congestion and adverse weather. The G650 features the
most technologically advanced PlaneView® II cockpit with a number of enhancements
including: four 14-inch, adaptive, liquid-crystal displays; three standard
PlaneBook® computer tablets; a smaller pedestal; a standby multifunction
controller that combines current display controller functionality with standby
flight instruments; and a fully automatic, three-dimensional scanning weather
radar with an integral terrain database for efficient ground-clutter elimination. In
addition, the G650 uses the Gulfstream Enhanced Vision System (EVS II), the
Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display (SV-PFD) system and Head-Up Display
(HUD II). The aircraft offers a full three-axis fly-by-wire system that
delivers flight-envelope protection, increased redundancy and reduced maintenance.
Gulfstream expects to begin G650 customer deliveries in the second half of
2012.
The large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G550 can fly up to 51,000 feet
at speeds up to Mach 0.885. Powered by two Rolls-Royce BR710 engines, the G550
can fly eight passengers and four crewmembers 6,750 nautical miles. The G550
also features the PlaneView™ cockpit. The G550’s standard equipment
includes the Gulfstream Enhanced Vision System and the Gulfstream Signature
Cursor Control Devices. The fully equipped G550 offers a choice of cabin layouts
and option packages. Customization packages are also available. Dependent upon
the configuration, the G550 can accommodate 14 to 18 passengers. The
aircraft received FAA certification in August 2003 and validation from the
European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in March 2004. The G550 entered
service in September 2003. In early 2004, the G550 team was awarded the
2003 Collier Trophy, the most prestigious award in aviation in North America.
The large-cabin, long-range Gulfstream G450 business jet, which was introduced
at the 2003 National Business Aviation Association’s annual meeting,
is an entire aircraft upgrade of an already outstanding business jet, the Gulfstream
GIV/GIV-SP/G400. With the ability to accommodate 12 to 16 passengers, travel
4,350 nautical miles and cruise at speeds up to Mach 0.88, the G450 can handle
domestic and international flights with ease. The G450 is powered by upgraded
Tay 611-8C Rolls-Royce engines. Combined with aerodynamic and material improvements,
its flight and performance characteristics provide greater fuel efficiency
and lower operating costs. The G450 features the PlaneView™ cockpit as
well as Gulfstream’s Enhanced Vision System. Every G450 is backed by
an excellent warranty and award-winning service and product support. On Aug.
12, 2004, the G450 received a Type Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). The G450 received both its European Aviation Safety Agency Type Certificate
and Federal Aviation Administration Production Certificate in November 2004.
Gulfstream commenced customer deliveries in May 2005.
The large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G350 offers the most cabin volume, the
best performance and the largest number of standard features compared to any
aircraft in its class. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Tay 611-8C engines, the G350
has the ability to accommodate 12 to 16 passengers, travel a maximum of 3,800
nautical miles and cruise at speeds up to Mach 0.88. Like the large-cabin,
long-range Gulfstream G450, the G350 features the exclusive PlaneView™ cockpit.
Available as optional equipment on the G350 are the next-generation Visual
Guidance System, Honeywell Head-Up Display (HUD) and Gulfstream’s Enhanced
Vision System (EVS). In November 2004, the G350 received both a Type Certificate
and a Production Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In addition, the G350 received validation by the European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) on March 30, 2005. The first Gulfstream G350 entered service in June
2005.
The large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G200 accommodates up to 10 passengers and
offers outstanding performance with its excellent climb, high cruising altitude,
high-speed, long-range and short-landing capabilities. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney
Canada 306A engines, the G200 is able to fly at speeds up to Mach 0.85 and at
cruising altitudes up to 45,000 feet. Since joining the Gulfstream fleet in 2001,
the G200 has benefited from several improvements, including a redesigned interior,
a sound-proofing package and an aggressive weight-reduction program. The G200
offers several layout options and a competitive warranty. This large-cabin, mid-range
aircraft can be tailored to meet individualized mission requirements. On June
4, 2008, the 200th G200 rolled out. Today, G200s are in service throughout the
world – in Europe, Asia and both North and South America. The G200 received
a Type Certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Sept. 7,
2004.
Rounding out the Gulfstream fleet is the wide-cabin, high-speed Gulfstream
G150. Powered by two fuel-efficient Honeywell 731 engines, the wide-cabin, high-speed
Gulfstream G150 offers the best performance in its class with a range of 2,950
nautical miles. Available in three configurations, this aircraft comfortably
accommodates six to eight passengers. The wide cabin features stand-up headroom,
ample aisle space, and generous seated headroom and legroom. G150 benefits include
competitive warranty, training and maintenance programs. On Jan. 18, 2005, the
first G150 business jet rolled out of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) manufacturing
facility at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel and successfully completed
its first flight on May 3, 2005. The G150 received its Type Certificate from
the Civil Aviation Administration of Israel and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
on Nov. 7, 2005.
Mailing Address:
Gulfstream Aerospace
500 Gulfstream Road
Savannah, Georgia 31407 USA
Contact Gulfstream at:
(912) 965-3000
or info@gulfstream.com
|
Document last modified Friday, July 18, 2008 |