First Real-World Pic Of Hottest New BizJet

Few new aircraft are as anxiously awaited (or as assuredly successful) as a new Gulfstream... especially when they're updating the top-of-the-line.

Gulfstream's long-awaited new G650 has finally seen the light of day and is readying for a first flight in the not too distant future. The G650 was rolled outside last night, fired up the APU and did their first engine runs. In any test program, that's a big moment, and in this case, enough of a big moment to have someone send us a pretty cool pic of the proceedings. 

The Gulfstream G650 is described as an 'ultra-large-cabin, ultra-high speed' bizjet and is hyped as being able to fly faster and farther than any traditional business aircraft. The program was inaugurated just last year and promises a bird that will carry eight passengers and a crew of four on nonstop legs of as long as 7000 nm (at long-range cruise, M.85), and still require a conservative balanced field length of some 6000 feet (MTOW, SL, ISA) -- and while boogying as fast as M.925.

Gulfstream is packing the cockpit with every asset imaginable... as the G650 comes standard with Enhanced Vision System II, Head-Up Display II and a Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display. The Planeview II cockpit is equipped with a Triplex Flight Management System, Automatic Emergency Descent Mode, 3-D weather radar, and Advanced Flight Controls.

FMI: www.gulfstream.com