SAVANNAH, Ga., April 30, 2008 – Five years ago today, the first Gulfstream G450 made its maiden flight. Departing from Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport, Gulfstream Chief Test Pilot John O’Meara and Senior Experimental Test Pilot Jake Howard put the large-cabin, long-range business jet through its preliminary paces. During the two-hour, 30-minute test flight, the G450 reached an altitude of 41,000 feet and a speed of 0.80 Mach, or nearly 581 miles per hour.
The aircraft was officially unveiled during the National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) annual meeting on Oct. 6, 2003. Less than a year later, on Aug. 12, 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Type Certificate (TC) for the G450. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) validated the FAA certification on Nov. 19, 2004.
The G450 entered service on May 7, 2005, when the first aircraft was delivered to a U.S.-based customer. It established its first intercontinental speed record 10 days later, flying 3,550 nautical miles from Chicago to London in 7 hours and 19 minutes, at an average speed of Mach 0.85.
As of March 31, 2008, there are more than 90 G450 business jets in service. The G450 has a 99.77 percent dispatch reliability rate. It has flown a collective 67,198 hours and completed more than 33,240 landings. The G450 is propelled by twin Rolls Royce Tay MK611-8C engines, which provide 13,850 pounds of thrust each. The Planeview® flight deck features Honeywell Primus Epic avionics and the award-winning Gulfstream Enhanced Vision System and Synthetic Vision Primary Flight Display.
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 some 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®; 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 Financial Services Division and Gulfstream Pre-Owned Aircraft Sales®. The company employs more than 9,100 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, Va., employs approximately 84,000 people worldwide and reported 2007 revenues of $27.2 billion. 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.
