Aircraft
Program Update: Gulfstream G650 on schedule to make first flight by year-end
Under bright blue skies on September 29, Gulfstream Aerospace rolled out the first wide-cabin G650 powered by its two Rolls-Royce BR725 engines before a cr

Under bright blue skies on September 29, Gulfstream Aerospace rolled out the first wide-cabin G650 powered by its two Rolls-Royce BR725 engines before a crowd of about 7,000 people at the company’s Savannah, Ga. headquarters. The $64.5 million (2009 $) twinjet–dubbed T1, for test aircraft one–is currently undergoing ground tests and is scheduled to fly by the end of this year. The clean-sheet aircraft was launched in March last year and is expected to obtain FAA certification in late 2011, with deliveries to follow in 2012.

Speaking on the day of the rollout, Gulfstream president Joe Lombardo said, “We’ve all been looking forward to this day since we officially announced the G650 program last year.” He added that “the G650 is a statement about Gulfstream,” referring to the company’s willingness to invest in new aircraft programs during troubling economic times.