News Release
GULFSTREAM G550 FIRST TOOK FLIGHT
FIVE YEARS AGO
G550 Maiden Flight Still the Longest First Flight in Gulfstream History
SAVANNAH, Ga., July 19, 2007 – Five years ago, the first production G550 aircraft took off from Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport on its maiden flight. The flight, on July 18, 2002, lasted five hours and one minute and is still the longest first flight of any new Gulfstream aircraft model.
“When the G550 wheels lifted off from the runway on that hot summer morning, there was a collective cheer from the hundreds of employees watching,” said Joseph T. Lombardo, president, Gulfstream. “While it was nearing 100 degrees outside, we really didn’t mind the heat. We knew we were witnessing something very special.”
Gulfstream chief test pilot John O’Meara and project pilot Al Moros took the airplane through its full flight envelope – flying up to the 51,000 feet maximum cruise altitude – and beyond, including a test dive of Mach .955. After landing the plane, O’Meara commented that “the aircraft performed like it was ready for customer delivery.”
Introduced in 2000, the G550 features the PlaneView® cockpit, which includes the new Honeywell Primus Epic avionics suite, a signature Cursor Control Device and Gulfstream Enhanced Vision System (EVS) – the first pilot vision-enhancing equipment to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In a first for Gulfstream, the FAA issued the type and production certificates for the G550 on the same day, Aug. 14, 2003. The first G550 was delivered to its customer on Sept. 17, 2003.
Currently, some 124 G550 business jets in service are experiencing a 99.82 percent dispatch reliability rate. They have flown a collective 119,024 hours and completed more than 47,000 takeoffs and landing. The G550 has set 39 city-pair speed records, including a 7,301 nautical mile flight from Seoul, South Korea, to Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 3, 2003, less than three weeks after it entered service.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), designs, develops, manufactures, markets, services and supports the world’s most technologically advanced business-jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced some 1,600 aircraft for customers around the world since 1958. To meet the diverse transportation needs of the future, Gulfstream offers a comprehensive fleet of aircraft, comprising the wide-cabin, high-speed Gulfstream G150®; the large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G200®; the large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G350®; the large-cabin, long-range G450®; the large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G500® and the large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G550®. Gulfstream also offers aircraft ownership services via Gulfstream Financial Services Division and Gulfstream Pre-Owned Aircraft Sales®. The company employs more than 7,900 people at seven major locations. We invite you to visit our Web site for more information and photos of Gulfstream aircraft at www.gulfstream.com.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 82,600 people worldwide and had 2006 revenues of $24.1 billion. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available online at www.generaldynamics.com.
