Gulfstream is enhancing its support of customers travelling through Paris by positioning a Field and Airborne Support Team (FAST) at Paris-Le Bourget Airport, considered Europe’s busiest airport for business jet travellers.

The FAST unit comprises European Aviation Safety Agency (Easa)-trained technicians and a 10.1-m-long custom truck outfitted with a range of specialty equipment.

“With many Gulfstream aircraft moving through daily, Le Bourget is an ideal location to have an on-site mobile repair team available to our customers,” said Derek Zimmerman, President, Gulfstream Product Support. “We’re initially focused on rapid-response assistance and looking at other ways to enhance our services.”

FAST includes dedicated aircraft in the US, specially equipped vehicles in the US and Europe and more than 125 FAST-dedicated technicians worldwide, including England, Switzerland, France, Spain, Greece and Ukraine. Technicians can be dispatched by airplane, train, automobile or van and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Gulfstream supports a growing fleet of more than 230 aircraft in Europe with resources throughout the continent, including Gulfstream Luton, the company-owned service centre at London Luton Airport, which completed more than 2,100 aircraft visits and road trips in 2016.


TEST OF ENDURANCE

Meanwhile, a Gulfstream G600 recently completed a 13-hour, 5-minute flight, its longest since the aircraft’s flight-test programme began in December.

The G600 endurance flight was made by the programme’s third test aircraft less than two weeks after its maiden voyage.

“A 13-hour endurance flight so soon after this test article’s first flight is strong evidence of the G600 program’s maturity and the aircraft’s capabilities,” said Dan Nale, Senior Vice President, Programs, Engineering and Test, Gulfstream. “This milestone is easily traced back to the work done in our ground-based laboratories before the G600 took to the air.”

Both of Gulfstream’s concurrent flight-test programmes, the G500 and G600, continue to make steady progress as the aircraft move toward Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification and entry into service in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

The three aircraft in the G600 programme have amassed 460 flight hours and more than 100 flights. The third test aircraft’s initial flight on May 5 lasted 4 hours and 35 minutes. Two more test aircraft are scheduled to join the programme. The first will be used to test avionics, automatic flight control systems and the fuel system, while the last test aircraft, the first fully outfitted G600, will test cabin systems and the production interior.

To date, the G500 programme’s five flight-test aircraft have accumulated 2,900 hours in the air and 745 flights. In mid-April, the fully outfitted G500 test article completed its longest flight thus far, 4,808 nautical miles/8,904 km, while crossing the US. The flight, which was used to test the on-board satellite communications system, began in Savannah, extended out over the Pacific Ocean and returned to Savannah. The total flight time was 10 hours and 6 minutes.

“We continue to be very pleased with the performance of our flight-test programmes,” Nale said. “Having the same team of engineers and Flight Test personnel work on both programs is extremely beneficial for us. Testing completed on the G500 directly benefits the G600 because of the programs’ similarity. As such, our efficiency continues to reach new heights and keeps us confidently on track for certification and entry into service.”

The G500 can fly 5,000 nm/9,260 km at Mach 0.85 or 3,800 nm/7,038 km at Mach 0.90, while the G600 can carry passengers 6,200 nm/11,482 km at Mach 0.85 and 4,800 nm/8,890 km at Mach 0.90. The maximum operating speed for both aircraft is Mach 0.925, the same as Gulfstream’s G650 and flagship G650ER.