News Release
GULFSTREAM G550 SETS THREE MORE CITY-PAIR SPEED RECORDS BEFORE THE CLOSE OF 2006
Three Records and More than 13,000 Nautical Miles in Eight Days
SAVANNAH , Ga. , Jan. 8, 2007 – The ultra-long-range Gulfstream G550 business-jet aircraft recently established three new city-pair records, bringing the total number of records established by Gulfstream-operated G550s in 2006 to ten. The three most recent records were established during an eight-day period in December.
On Dec. 13, 2006 , the G550 took off from Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in San Juan , Puerto Rico at 7:43 p.m. local time. Gulfstream senior international captain Ray Wellington and Gulfstream experimental test pilot Scott Martin flew the aircraft 5,841 nautical miles at an average cruise speed of Mach 0.83, landing at Cape Town International Airport in South Africa the following day at 1:55 p.m. local time with 5,000 pounds of fuel remaining. Flight attendant Linda Barr assisted the 12 passengers who were onboard for the 12-hour, 11-minute flight.
The same flight crew and nine passengers boarded the G550 three days later on Dec. 17 and took off from Cape Town International at 9:18 a.m. local time. The G550 flew 3,677 nautical miles into headwinds averaging 46 knots and at an average cruise speed of Mach 0.80, landing eight hours and 55 minutes later at 1:15 p.m. local time at Capitan Corbeta C.A. Curbelo International Airport in Maldonado , Uruguay .
On a Dec. 20 return flight to Cape Town , G550 pilots Martin and Wellington , flight attendant Barr and one passenger took off from Capitan Corbeta C.A. Curbelo International at 8:21 a.m. local time. The business jet flew eastbound with an average tailwind of 57 knots and an average cruise speed of Mach 0.85, flying 3,610 nautical miles and landing six hours and 51 minutes later at 7:12 p.m. the same day in Cape Town.
Gulfstream has submitted applications to the National Aeronautic Association to confirm each of these new city-pair records.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), designs, develops, manufactures, markets, services and supports the world’s most technologically advanced business-jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 1,600 aircraft for customers around the world since 1958. To meet the diverse transportation needs of the future, Gulfstream offers a comprehensive fleet of aircraft, comprising the wide-cabin, high-speed Gulfstream G150 ®; the large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G200 ®; the large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G350 ®; the large-cabin, long-range G450 ®; the large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G500 ® and the large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G550 ®. Gulfstream also offers aircraft ownership services via Gulfstream Financial Services Division and Gulfstream Pre-Owned Aircraft Sales ®. The company employs more than 7,900 people at seven major 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 81,100 people worldwide and expects 2006 revenues of approximately $24 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. More information about the company is available online at www.generaldynamics.com .
