Gulfstream Delivers 500th G650/650ER

Gulfstream Aerospace has delivered the 500th G650/G650ER some 10 years since the first aircraft was handed over to customer, the Savannah, Georgia–based business jet manufacturer recently announced. The milestone G650ER was delivered from the company’s Appleton, Wisconsin completions facility. 

The 7,000-nautical-mile G650 received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in fourth-quarter 2012, while the extended-range (7,500-nautical-mile) G650ER was announced and certified in 2014. Both aircraft have amassed more than 120 city-pair world speed records, including both polar and westbound around-the-world records. Gulfstream also won the Robert J. Collier Trophy for the G650 program.

Thanks to a six-year head start over the rival Bombardier Global 7500, the G650/650ER holds about an 80 percent share of the market for business jets than can fly more than 7,000 nautical miles, according to the latest delivery data from both aircraft manufacturers. Gulfstream parent company General Dynamics said during its second-quarter investor call that demand for new-production G650ERs remains “robust.”