Gulfstream’s new fly-by-wire Gulfstream G500 and G600 models have achieved significant milestones recently, the company announced at a press conference here in Shanghai on Monday. These include mating of the wing to the fuselage of the first G600 flight test article and awarding of the first Type Inspection Authorization from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for G500 inlet compatibility, which allows Gulfstream to get certification credit for testing on the inlet system. The first G600 flight had been scheduled in 2017, but, Neal said, “It looks like we’ll be able to fly late this year.”
The four airplanes in the G500 flight test fleet have completed 195 flights thus far, logging more than 800 hours of flying time. Flight test article T1 was the first to fly on May 18, 2015, and since then has reached a maximum speed of Mach 0.995, maximum altitude of 16,154 m (53,000 ft).
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