Report and photo by Peter Clark
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has resumed the G650 flight–test programme, following a suspension of flying after a fatal crash on 2 April. The first flight since the accident took place on 28 May, aircraft 6001 flying for one hour, 39 minutes. Gulfstream said it had conducted all the necessary reviews to assure safe flight testing with the four remaining aircraft. This included working closely with the FAA and receiving the agency’s concurrence to resume flying.
The G650 will be the flagship of Gulfstream’s product line. To date its flight–test programme has made 470 take–offs, accumulating 1560 hours towards the estimated 2200 hours required for certification. The company still anticipates certification in 2011 and service entry in 2012, as was announced at the aircraft’s public launch in 2008.
The crash occurred at Roswell Airport in New Mexico. All four aboard were killed when the right wingtip struck the ground on takeoff during a series of single¬engine–out, low–speed, high–attack–angle tests. Gulfstream subsequently spoke of increasing minimum speed thresholds.
The G650 will carry eight passengers and a crew of four on nonstop legs of 7000nm (12,964 km). Its Rolls–Royce BR725 engines will enable it to cover shorter distances at Mach 0.925. Expected to be the most technologically advanced business aircraft in the sky, the G650 has a price tag of US$64 million.
- Published in the July 2011 Issue