Gulfstream has revealed that its G700 business jet will deliver better performance, including greater range and speed, than the company had initially announced for the new aircraft. During certification flight tests, the G700 has demonstrated increases in range and speed, as well as improvements in cabin altitude.
The range of the G700 has now increased to 14,353 kilometers (7,750 nm) at Mach 0.85, or 12,316 kilometers (6,650 nm) at Mach 0.90. These figures represent an increase of 463 kilometers (250 nm) at each speed over the original projections. The G700’s maximum operating speed has increased to Mach 0.935 from Mach 0.925. The G700 now has the highest speed of any aircraft in the Gulfstream fleet.
The G700’s cabin altitude has been reduced to 866 meters (2,840 ft) while flying at 12,497 meters (41,000 ft), providing greater comfort for passengers.
The G700 flight test program is nearing completion, with more than 4,100 test hours flown by a fleet of seven aircraft, including five flight test aircraft and two fully outfitted production test aircraft.
Certification and service entry of the G700 by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are planned for the fourth quarter of 2023. Initially planned to occur in the fourth quarter of 2022, certification of the aircraft has been delayed due to a number of issues, including a time-consuming software validation requirement recently issued by the FAA as well as staffing shortages at the regulatory agency.
The G700 is a stretched version of the Gulfstream G650, and features a larger cabin than the earlier model. Forecast International projects that 497 G700s will be produced through the year 2037.
Gulfstream is in the process of developing a family of aircraft based on the G650. Besides the G650 and G700, the new family also includes the G650ER and G800. The G650ER, which entered service in 2014, is an extended-range version of the G650. The G800, currently in development, is a longer-range derivative of the G700. The G800, certification of which is planned for mid-2024, will eventually replace the G650 and G650ER in the Gulfstream product line, though continuing demand for the earlier models will result in some overlap in production before the G650 versions are completely phased out.
All of the models in the series compete in the ultra-long-range segment of the business jet market, a segment that Gulfstream arguably created with the launch of the G650. Other aircraft in the ultra-long-range class include the Bombardier Global 7500 and Global 8000 and the Dassault Falcon 10X. The Global 7500 entered service in 2018, and the Global 8000 and Falcon 10X are in development.
With the G700 and G800, Gulfstream is positioning itself in the ultra-long-range category with a pair of aircraft that offer a choice to customers based on their needs and requirements. The company can provide the G700, which has a cabin volume of 2,603 cubic feet, to customers for whom cabin size is a priority. And it can provide the 8,000-nautical-mile-range G800, which retains the smaller G650 cabin, to those for whom range is more important.
Raymond Jaworowski currently co-authors three of Forecast International's best-selling products: Civil Aircraft Forecast, Military Aircraft Forecast, and Rotorcraft Forecast. As a contributor to Aviation Week & Space Technology's Aerospace Source Book, he has authored Aircraft Outlooks, and provided input for the publication's Aircraft Specifications tables. Raymond has represented Forecast International at numerous conferences and trade shows, often as a featured speaker. He is a member of the American Helicopter Society.
