GULFSTREAM MOVES LUTON SERVICE CENTER OPERATIONS INTO LARGER HANGAR

SAVANNAH, Ga., October 9, 2011 - Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. today announced it has relocated its Luton, England, service center to a larger, more modern hangar.  The 75,000-square-foot hangar and accompanying office area nearly doubles space at the site, allowing Gulfstream Luton technicians to more efficiently service Gulfstream's entire fleet, including the all-new G650, the company's flagship aircraft.  Three floors of office space include six customer offices and a lounge.

“The entire Luton customer experience has improved,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Product Support.  “We can support more customers, get their aircraft in and out of maintenance faster than ever, and we have a place for them to work and relax. Moving into this world-class facility is a milestone for this 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week operation that serves the highest volume of transient Gulfstream traffic in Europe.”

The hangar, which can accommodate 10 to 12 aircraft, depending on the mix of large-cabin and mid-cabin models, complements Gulfstream Luton's new 10,000-square-foot parts warehouse, which opened in May 2011.  The hangar and warehouse are adjacent to one another at the high-traffic London Luton Airport, located 30 miles north of London.

Gulfstream Luton's parts warehouse is stocked with more than $40 million in parts and materials, including dedicated wheel-and-brake storage, cold storage and compressed air storage areas.  A section of the warehouse has been set aside to store parts for the ultra-large-cabin G650 and mid-cabin G280.

“The combination of the new hangar and warehouse gives Luton a much bigger footprint in the region to support the demands of our growing fleet in Europe, Africa and the Middle East,” Burns said.  “We'll demonstrate our continued ability to meet those demands and more as we prepare for the entry-into-service of our two new aircraft, the G650 and G280, and to support Gulfstream operators at the 2012 Olympics in London.” 

The new hangar includes a start-of-the-art heating system and a well-lit ramp. Some of the hangar's other features include:

• Two aircraft slots on the ramp
• A fire-suppression system
• Wi-Fi capability in the customer offices and hangar
• A large booth for painting wings and ailerons
• A dedicated training room 
• Two conference rooms
• A dedicated room for working on avionics harnesses and cabin items

Gulfstream Luton, which has grown from 40 employees in 2003 to more than 170, is the only company-owned service center outside the United States.  The facility is a certified Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 145 repair station, which means its employees can work on Gulfstream aircraft registered in the U.S. and European Union (EU) countries.  In 2010, Gulfstream Luton serviced nearly 1,500 Gulfstream aircraft at its 56,000-square foot facility or on road trips. Those figures topped 2009 numbers by almost 15 percent.

Gulfstream Luton has EASA Part 21 Design Organization Approval, which means its workforce can install and repair avionics equipment and cabin interiors for Gulfstream aircraft registered in EU countries.

Gulfstream Luton also has maintenance and repair approvals from the civil aviation authorities in Aruba, Bahrain, Bermuda, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Gulfstream Luton is also home to an EASA-mandated Continued Airworthiness Management Organization program.  This authorization enables the facility to handle maintenance, maintenance planning, airworthiness management and airworthiness reviews for customers.

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 2,000 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 new large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G280®; the large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G350®; the large-cabin, long-range Gulfstream G450®; the large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G500®; the large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G550® and the ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range G650®. Gulfstream also offers aircraft ownership services via Gulfstream Pre-Owned Aircraft Sales®. The company employs more than 11,500 people at 10 major locations. Visit our website, www.gulfstream.com, for more information.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 88,000 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at www.generaldynamics.com.