EBACE - Gulfstream prepares for G500 first flight

Gulfstream is on track for the first flight of its new G500 clean-sheet business jet the company said at EBACE today
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Service entry for the G500 and G600 is scheduled for 2018 and 2019, respectively.
The all-important first-flight should take place in the next few weeks, and the manufacturer said it has seen a “strong reaction” to the aircraft from the marketplace.
US fractional ownership company Flexjet will take delivery of the first G500 as part of an order for up to 50 Gulfstream jets, including the G450 and G650.

Gulfstream president Larry Flynn confirmed the first flight will take place in the second quarter, but gave no specific deadlines - “It’ll fly when it’s ready,” he said.

Gulfstream is confident that its extensive simulator testing programme for the type ahead of the first flight will stand it in good stead for US FAA certification. “All flight test points are being flown in the simulator before we go out on test flights,” says Flynn, adding: “I don’t know of anyone else with a full-motion simulator in use before flight.”

The aircraft incorporates “a whole bunch of new, usable technology”, says Flynn, including active control flight sticks – a first for the business jet industry – and “10 to 12” touchscreen displays. Manufacturing techniques differ slightly from previous aircraft models to account for bonded fuselage panels containing “a modest amount of composite”, says Flynn.

Gulfstream unveiled the G500 at its Savannah, Georgia headquarters on 14 October alongside the longer-range G600, which the company has now begun building. The 5,000nm (9,260km) G500 is powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW814GA engines.

Happy as Larry: Larry Flynn addresses this morning's press conefrence at Geneva