News Release
ULTRA-LONG RANGE GULFSTREAM V BREAKS 44-YEAR OLD RECORD
Tokyo to Washington, D.C. in Less Than 12 Hours
Savannah, GA, March 13, 2002 - A Gulfstream V business jet aircraft, en route from Tokyo's Narita Airport to Washington's Dulles International Airport, has broken a 44-year old record for Speed Over a Recognized Course. The ultra-long range GV was returning from Asian Aerospace 2002, held in Singapore, where it was on static display and also participated in customer demonstration flights.
The aircraft departed from Singapore en route to Narita on Monday, March 4, 2002, with Gulfstream Vice Chairman Bryan Moss and guests on board. On Tuesday, March 5, around noon local time in Tokyo, the aircraft departed for Washington where Moss was to attend meetings of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).
After crossing the international date line, and taking into account the 14 hour time difference between the two cities, when the GV touched down in Washington eleven hours and fifty-four minutes later, it was exactly two hours and six minutes before it had departed Tokyo, Eastern Standard Time. The distance traveled was 6,739 statute miles and the average speed was 566 mph.
The pilot in command was Gulfstream demonstration pilot Robert S. McKenney, who currently holds some eight aviation records in Gulfstream aircraft, while Gregory S. Sheldon was copilot.
Forty-four years earlier, on April 8, 1958, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General William E. Eubank, Jr. and his crew had flown a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker on a similar route, averaging 492.26 mph on their 13 hours and 46 minutes flight.
"Not only was the flight incredibly smooth at 49,000 feet, but at that altitude it was possible to see the curvature of the earth particularly through the superb oval Gulfstream signature windows," said Moss, who has participated in more than six record-breaking GV flights.
"The most significant factor for me on this flight is that I was able to arrive refreshed and on time for a meeting at the NBAA which I would have been unable to attend had I been obliged to take commercial flights," continued Moss. "I completed my business in Asia, flew back to the United States and attended the meeting in Washington without any delays or setbacks. When you combine the best ultra-long range aircraft with the most professional aviation crews, you have a combination that just can't be beaten."
The record-breaking flight is subject to review and approval by the National Aeronautic Association and the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in Switzerland before it can be officially considered a World record. The GV currently holds 46 world aviation records for speed, altitude and time to climb as well as an additional 24 national aviation records.
The GV entered service in 1997, the same year the aircraft won the prestigious Collier Trophy. The in-service fleet includes some 140 aircraft, which have logged over 120,000 hours in flight, achieving a dispatch reliability in excess of 99 percent. In just a few years of service, the GV has carried passengers higher, faster, farther than any business jet aircraft.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets and services the world's most technologically advanced business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 1,300 aircraft for customers around the world since 1958. To meet the aviation needs of its customers, Gulfstream offers a full range of aircraft products and services, including the Gulfstream 100®, Gulfstream 200®, Gulfstream IV-SP®, the ultra-long range Gulfstream V® and Gulfstream V-SP®, Gulfstream Shares®, Gulfstream Financial Services Division, Gulfstream Pre-Owned Aircraft Sales®, Gulfstream Management Services® and Gulfstream ServiceCare®. The company employs some 8,300 people at eight locations. We invite you to visit our Web site for more information and photos of Gulfstream aircraft at www.gulfstream.com.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 52,000 people worldwide and had 2001 revenues of $12 billion. The company has leading market positions in land and amphibious combat systems, mission-critical information systems and technologies, shipbuilding and marine systems, and business aviation. More information about the company can be found on the World Wide Web at www.generaldynamics.com.
