Company's Newest Bizjet On Track For First Flight

Gulfstream Aerospace recently celebrated the fuselage joining for the first Gulfstream G250, the company's newest mid-cabin jet.

The G250 forward, center and aft fuselage sections were joined utilizing the most advanced assembly process, which has proven to reduce the time needed to complete the fuselage. The improvement is the result of the G250's cutting-edge design, which uses the most advanced engineering and design tools.

"The fuselage joining is a tremendous step forward for the G250," said Pres Henne, senior vice president, Programs, Engineering and Test, Gulfstream. "The mechanics have been very pleased with the precision of the assembly process. Everything went smoothly with the fuselage joining, and now we look forward to the next major milestone — the aircraft's first flight."

Introduced at NBAA 2008 in Orlando, the G250 offers the largest cabin and the longest range at the fastest speed in the industry's mid-size class. The aircraft is capable of traveling 3,400 nautical miles at 0.80 Mach and has a maximum operating speed of 0.85 Mach. With an initial cruise altitude of 41,000 feet, the G250 can climb to a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet, where it can avoid congestion and adverse weather.

The G250 is powered by twin Honeywell HTF7250G engines, each providing 7,445 pounds of thrust. The engines and nacelle package for the first flight test aircraft have already been delivered.

Initial-phase manufacturing for the G250 takes place at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) headquarters near the Ben Gurion International Airport just outside of Tel Aviv, Israel. Gulfstream maintains an office at IAI to oversee production.

"We are happy to take part in developing and manufacturing one of the world's most advanced business jets," said David Dagan, corporate vice president, IAI, and general manager, Commercial Aircraft Group. "This prestigious program is advancing as planned due to the hard work invested by the IAI and Gulfstream crews. We are proud of this achievement."

Final-phase manufacturing for the G250 will take place at the Gulfstream completion facility for mid-cabin aircraft in Dallas. Gulfstream projects the G250 to be certified in 2011 and expects to begin deliveries of the aircraft the same year.

The first flight of the aircraft is scheduled for the second half of this year.

FMI: www.gulfstream.com