21 May 2020: In the latest milestone the second and third Gulfstream G700 aircraft successfully completed their respective test flights reaching an altitude of 45,000 feet/13,716 meters and a speed of Mach 0.85. Both the aircraft took off from the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and soared over the Savannah in 2 hours and 58 minutes & 3 hours and 2 minutes respectively.
The three flight-test aircraft have flown more than 100 hours since the program’s first flight on 14th Feb 2020. The G700 has reached a maximum altitude of 54,000 ft. /16,459 m and a maximum speed of Mach 0.94. Here’s a video of the take off
Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream said, “The G700 flight-test program is running very well, a reflection of the extensive testing we conducted in our ground labs. With the G700 flight-test program performing exactly as expected; the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp has further advanced towards certification and customer delivery of the new flagship aircraft. All three flight-test aircraft are performing exactly as we expected them to, and that helps us ensure a safe and thorough certification of the highest performing, most spacious and technologically advanced aircraft in business aviation.”
Some of the features of the G-700 are-
- It has the longest, widest and tallest cabin in the industry.
- It has 20 Gulfstream panoramic oval windows and up to five living areas.
- It has an ultra-galley with more than 10 feet of counter space
- It also has crew compartment or passenger lounge.
- It has a master suite with shower.
- It also has the industry’s only ultrahigh-definition circadian lighting system.
- It is powered by Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines.
- It can fly at its high-speed cruise of Mach 0.90 for 6,400 nautical miles/11,853 kilometres or at its long-range cruise of Mach 0.85 for 7,500 nm/13,890 km.
- It includes the Gulfstream Symmetry Flight Deck with the industry’s only electronically linked active control side sticks; the most extensive use of touch-screen technology in business aviation.
- It also has integrated Gulfstream’s award-winning Predictive Landing Performance System
The current flight-test aircraft are being used for envelope expansion, flutter testing, flying qualities and flight control as well as mechanical systems, flights into known icing and environmental control systems, among other tests.