May 19--Savannah-based Gulfstream Aerospace has taken the world's fastest business jet and given it yet another title.
The new G650ER, which made its debut Monday at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Geneva, has additional fuel capacity that allows it to travel up to 7,500 nautical miles, giving it the longest range of any business jet.
The increase takes the G650ER 500 nautical miles farther than Gulfstream's flagship G650, which entered service in 2012.
"The G650ER is the only business aircraft in the world capable of traveling 7,500 nautical miles," said Scott Neal, Gulfstream's senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing.
"This opens up significant nonstop city pairs, including Dallas to Dubai and San Francisco to Delhi. G650ER owners in Dubai will be able to reach most of the contiguous United States, while operators can fly nonstop from Hong Kong to the U.S. East Coast.
"Thanks to the G650ER, the world just got a little smaller."
The G650ER has already set two speed records during flight testing -- from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia, and from Hong Kong to Teterboro, N.J., just outside New York City.
The Savannah-built G650ER will share the same cabin, avionics and systems as the G650. Now undergoing Federal Aviation Administration certification, it is expected to carry a $66 million price tag, approximately $1.5 million higher than the G650.
Current G650 owners and order-holders will be able to upgrade their G650s to G650ERs beginning in the first quarter of 2015, Neal said.
Copyright 2014 - Savannah Morning News, Ga.
