SAVANNAH, Ga., May 3, 2010 — Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced today that the wing, empennage and engines have been installed on the third large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G250 test aircraft and testing of the aircraft’s systems is under way. Known as serial number (S/N) 2003, the aircraft will be used to test systems functionality and reliability.

The G250 flight-test and certification program consists of three aircraft and an estimated 1,300 hours of flight time. The first G250 test aircraft, S/N 2001, joined the flight-test program on Dec. 11, 2009, and is being used to examine in-flight performance and handling. S/N 2002, which focuses on avionics testing, first flew on March 24. Together, the two aircraft have accumulated nearly 80 hours in flight, with S/N 2001 already achieving the maximum certified speed and altitude of Mach 0.85 and 45,000 feet (13,716 m).

“The G250 handles like a large-cabin Gulfstream aircraft,” said John O’Meara, chief test pilot. “It’s a good-handling airplane. We completed the aerodynamic stall test program, and the resultant performance was even better than we predicted. It’s very similar to a Gulfstream V in terms of its handling characteristics.”

Other aspects of the G250’s test program are also progressing as planned. Several structural tests have been completed, including flap ultimate load, ultimate horizontal stabilizer down bending, ultimate fuselage up bending and wing down bending. Additionally, the fuselage has been joined for the fatigue test article.

Additional tests have been completed in the aircraft’s Integration Test Facility (ITF). The G250 is the first mid-size Gulfstream with its own ITF. Based in Savannah, the facility has been used to integrate the software and hardware for the jet’s state-of-the-art PlaneView™ 250 avionics platform and to develop the procedures for the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM). Gulfstream also used the ITF for the aircraft’s human factors evaluation by the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). That evaluation is now complete.

Designed and built in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries in Tel Aviv, the G250 offers the largest cabin and the longest range at the fastest speed in its class. The aircraft can travel 3,400 nautical miles (6,300 km) and has a maximum operating speed of Mach 0.85. The G250 is powered by twin Honeywell HTF7250G engines, each of which provides 7,445 pounds of thrust.

As with all Gulfstream aircraft, the G250 was designed with input from the company’s Advanced Technology Customer Advisory Team (ATCAT), a group of operators who already own Gulfstream products. As a result of these operators’ input, the aircraft features in-flight access to baggage as well as a convertible observer/attendant seat. In the forward-facing observer position, the seat is certified for taxi, takeoff and landing. The chair can also be deployed in the rear-facing configuration to accommodate a cabin attendant.

The first G250 rolled out of the IAI manufacturing facility in Tel Aviv under its own power on Oct. 6, 2009. It remains on schedule for type certification by 2011, followed by entry-into-service the same year.
Source and picture: Gulfstream Aerospace