The market for Gulfstream hush kits stands at fewer than 400 GIIs, GIITTs, GIIBs and GIIIs. These models are currently one of the softer areas of a soft market. This net number takes into account the 14 GIIs and five GIIIs written off over the years, as well as nearly 50 combined models that are serving in some government role and, due to the nature of their operation, would probably not need to conform to any noise requirements. (Consider that one operator sets off twin sonic booms every time its flagship reenters earth’s atmosphere. Is NASA concerned with Stage 2 vs Stage 3 requirements on its five GIIs? Will it dip into taxpayer money to quiet an aircraft that is probably among the quietest in its fleet already? Probably not.)
At 400 units, this roughly approximates the size of the active Falcon 20 fleet. Since the Honeywell TFE731-20 engine retrofit program was introduced, about 30 percent of the available candidate aircraft have been re-engined.
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