Second Gulfstream G150 Flies Two Weeks Ahead Of Schedule

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Gulfstream Aerospace last week announced it added a second G150 business jet test aircraft, s/n 202, to its flight-test program two weeks ahead of schedule. The second production G150 aircraft completed its first flight Sept. 2 in Tel Aviv, Israel, flying for five hours and 30 minutes. During the flight, all aircraft systems were cycled and the test aircraft reached a maximum altitude of FL450 and flew at a maximum speed of Mach 0.865. Gulfstream will use this second aircraft for function and reliability testing, which started on Sept. 4. Gulfstream and Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) are developing the wide-cabin, high-speed G150 business jet. It is being built through its Certificate of Airworthiness at IAIs facility in Tel Aviv and then flown to Gulfstreams Dallas completions facility for its final phase of manufacturing. Gulfstreams G150, the company’s newest offering, is expected to enter service in the third quarter of 2006. The pilots reported [the aircraft] flew flawlessly during its maiden flight, said Pres Henne, senior vice president, programs, engineering and test, Gulfstream. The first G150 flight-test aircraft, serial number 201, has flown some 70 flights, accumulating more than 250 flight hours since its first flight on May 3 of this year. The aircrafts dispatch reliability has enabled pilots to fly two test flights per day on many of the days the aircraft has been scheduled to fly. The average flight duration has been more than 3.5 hours per flight. Gulfstream says its G150 flight-test program remains on schedule for type certification in the first quarter of next year.

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