Second Gulfstream G600 enters flight test programme
Development of the Gulfstream G600 took another major step towards certification on 24 February, with the introduction of the airframer’s second test aircraft into the flight test campaign.
During a 4h 26min maiden sortie, the large-cabin, long-range business jet – registration N720GD – reached a maximum altitude of 51,000ft and a top speed of Mach 0.87, Gulfstream says.
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The milestone came 10 weeks after the first G600 prototype took to the skies above the company’s Savannah, Georgia headquarters. The lead example, which is used for flutter testing and flight envelope expansion, has so far notched up more than 150 flight hours across 22 flights “without a single maintenance discrepancy”, Gulfstream says.
Company president Mark Burns says the brief interval between the two debut sorties “demonstrates the rigour and discipline inherent in [Gulfstream’s] development programmes, and continues a cadence of accomplishments that will steadily move the G600 toward certification and entry-into-service [in 2018]”. The second test aircraft will be used for in-flight load testing, says Gulfstream.
The G600 programme was launched in 2014 alongside the smaller and shorter-range G500, which is currently in flight testing and is scheduled for certification and service entry later this year.
Powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW815GA engines, the G600 can travel 6,200nm (11,500km) at M0.85, or 4,800nm at M0.9. Its maximum operating speed is M0.925.
The aircraft fits in Gulfstream’s six-model product line between the 14-year-old G550 – which it could eventually replace – and the flagship G650/ER.
