Faster, Farther, More Comfortably

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation—airframer to the world’s economic, political, and social elite and maker of aircraft renowned by pilots and engineers alike—made known on 05 September 2023 that its segment-leading and all-new Gulfstream G700 will, in actuality, deliver even better performance and greater cabin comfort than the company’s augurs initially predicted.

Over the course of the model’s flight-testing and certification campaigns, the G700 consistently demonstrated higher-than-predicted speed and range as well as lower-than-predicted cabin-altitude.

Specifically, the G700’s range has increased to 7,750-nautical-miles at Mach 0.85 or 6,650-nautical-miles at Mach 0.90. The figures represent gains of 250-nautical-miles, at both speeds, over original projections.

The G700’s maximum operating speed has also increased from 0.925 Mach (616.73-knots) to 0.935 Mach (623.40-knots)—the highest speed in the Gulfstream fleet.

The G700’s cabin-altitude—already the lowest in business aviation—has been further reduced to 2,840-feet while operating at FL410.

Gulfstream president Mark Burns stated: “We are undertaking one of the most extensive flight-test programs as the G700 is the first business aircraft to undergo Federal Aviation Administration certification following the passage of the 2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. As a result, we will be delivering an extremely mature, rigorously-tested aircraft that will outperform expectations in speed, range, and cabin comfort. Our certification efforts continue to advance, and we look forward to delivering the G700 to customers around the world.”

Throughout the arduous flight-test program contrived by Gulfstream engineers and approved by the FAA, two fully-outfitted G700 aircraft traveled the world vetting aircraft systems and cabin interiors and affording customers opportunity to experience whisper-quiet noise levels, no fewer than twenty Gulfstream Panoramic Oval Windows, and one-hundred-percent fresh cabin air. To date, the two aircraft have flown approximately 246,000-nautical-miles (11.37 equatorial global circumnavigations) and set more than 45 city-pair speed records.

Gulfstream’s G700 is powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines deriving of the famed British engine marque’s BR700 family of turbofan power-plants. Developed jointly by BMW and Rolls-Royce, BR700 series engines are manufactured in Dahlewitz, Germany by an entity known as Rolls-Royce Deutschland. The Pearl 700 is a direct descendant of the twin-shaft BR725 turbofan, but improves on its ancestor’s 16,900-lbf output with a take-off thrust rating of 18,250-lbf, and an accompanying reduction in fuel-consumption of three-to-five-percent.

As autumn 2023 approaches, the G700 flight test program is drawing near completion. A total of seven test aircraft, to include the two fully-outfitted production-test jets, have cumulatively logged upwards of 4,100-flight-hours.

FMI: www.gulfstream.com