Gulfstream Aerospace
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a subsidiary of General Dynamics.
Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 aircraft since 1958. Gulfstream's aircraft consist of the G280, G400, Gulfstream G400/G500/G600, and Gulfstream G650/G700/G800.
History
Origins
The company that evolved into Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. started in the late 1950s when Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co., known for military aircraft production, developed a twin turboprop business aircraft at its facilities in Bethpage, New York, called the Grumman Gulfstream I. The G-I could seat 12 passengers, had a maximum speed of at and a range of. The new aircraft, the first of its kind designed for business travel, was a success, prompting Grumman to develop the jet-powered Grumman Gulfstream II or GII.1960s
At the start of the GII program, Grumman officials separated the company's civil and military aircraft production to improve efficiency. In 1966, they relocated the civilian component to Savannah, Georgia where they had found a supply of skilled labor, an airfield adjacent to the plant and room for expansion. Transportation facilities suitable for heavy equipment and machinery as well as weather favorable to year-round flight-testing and flight-training operations enhanced Savannah's appeal. The new building opened in June 1967 and was dedicated on September 29, 1967. It housed production and flight testing for the GII. The 100-person work force that built the GII was 90% local, and grew to over 1,700 within a few years. On May 4, 1968, the Gulfstream II carved its name into aviation history as the first business jet to fly nonstop from the U.S. to Europe, launching a new era where executives could fly across North America or the Atlantic Ocean non-stop.1970s
On January 2, 1973, Grumman merged its civil aircraft operations with light-aircraft manufacturer American Aviation Corporation. The 256th and final GII delivery took place in 1977. One year later, the Gulfstream line and the Savannah plant were sold to American Jet Industries, which was headed by entrepreneur Allen Paulson. Paulson became the president and CEO of the company, renaming it Gulfstream American. He made a priority of developing the Gulfstream III. The GIII was a new aircraft designed to achieve greater range and speed than the GII. The GIII made its first flight in December 1979, with the first delivery in 1980. It was the first business jet designed to fly over both poles. The Hustler 400 was a corporate aircraft that featured a propeller in front for short runway use, and a jet in back for high-altitude cruising. The prototype, designated Hustler 400, first flew on January 11, 1978, but never entered production.1980s
In 1981, Gulfstream introduced the Gulfstream GIIB. The GIIB had a modified GII fuselage and the GIII wings, complete with winglets. The variant offered weight and performance characteristics similar to the GIII, but with the shorter GII fuselage. Gulfstream completed and delivered approximately 40 GIIBs.Under Paulson the Savannah work force grew to 2,500 by the spring of 1982. Also in this year, the company's name changed to Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to reflect its worldwide scope, and a new plane, the Gulfstream IV, was conceived. The following year, Gulfstream offered 8.8 million shares of stock to the public. In 1985, Chrysler Corp. acquired Gulfstream for $637 million as part of the automaker's plan to diversify into high-tech industries. This was also the year that Gulfstream first appeared on the Fortune 500 list, at No. 417. Two years later, the 200th and last Gulfstream III was delivered, and the first delivery of a Gulfstream IV took place. The GIV was the first jet in business aviation to have an all-glass cockpit. In 1989 Chrysler decided to sell Gulfstream, and Paulson teamed with Forstmann Little & Co. – a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts – and bought Gulfstream back.
1990s
The decade that followed the 1989 repurchase was a time of significant advancements for Gulfstream. The company signed a five-year contract with NetJets in 1994. It completed the Gulfstream V Integration Test Facility and rolled out the GV – the first ultra-long range business jet – in 1995. The opening of a $16 million Savannah service center with of hangar space followed in 1996. In 1997, Gulfstream began the simultaneous manufacture of two aircraft models – the GIV-SP and the GV. Within a few months of the GV's first delivery in June 1997, it set nearly 40 city-pair and/or speed and distance records, and its development team was awarded the 1997 Robert J. Collier Trophy, the highest honor in aeronautics or astronautics in North America. In 1998, Gulfstream purchased K-C Aviation from Kimberly-Clark Corp. for $250 million, which had operations in Dallas, Appleton, Wisconsin, and Westfield, Massachusetts.2000s
In 1999, General Dynamics purchased Gulfstream, and it opened a $5.5 million aircraft refurbishment and completions support facility in Savannah in 2000. In 2001, it acquired Galaxy Aerospace and with it, the mid-size Astra SPX and super mid-size Galaxy, which were later rebranded the Gulfstream G100 and Gulfstream G200, respectively. Also in 2001, Gulfstream purchased four U.S. maintenance facilities in Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, and West Palm Beach, Florida. Those service centers, along with a Gulfstream facility in Westfield, Massachusetts, formed General Dynamics Aviation Services, which maintained and repaired Gulfstream and other business-jet aircraft.In 2002, Gulfstream renamed its products, using Arabic numerals instead of Roman numerals to differentiate its aircraft. At the time, the company's lineup included the ultra long-range Gulfstream G550 and G500, the long-range Gulfstream G400, the mid-range Gulfstream G300 and G200, and the high-speed G100. 2002 was also the year that Gulfstream introduced its Airborne Product Support aircraft, a specially equipped G100 used to deliver parts and provide any-time service to Gulfstream customers under warranty in North America and the Caribbean.
In 2003, Gulfstream acquired a service center at the London-Luton Airport, the first Gulfstream-owned service center to be operated outside the United States. Also, in 2003, the long-range Gulfstream G450 was introduced. The large-cabin, mid-range G350 was presented a year later. In 2004, Gulfstream was awarded the 2003 Collier Trophy for the development of the G550. It was the second time in less than a decade that Gulfstream had won the award. The G550 is the first civil aircraft to receive a Type Certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration that includes an Enhanced Vision System as standard equipment on an aircraft. The aircraft also contained the first cockpit to incorporate PlaneView®, an integrated avionics suite featuring four 14-inch liquid crystal displays in landscape format.
In 2005, Gulfstream began to offer an in-flight internet connection – its Broad Band Multi-Link system. Gulfstream also designed and developed a means of reducing the sonic boom caused by an aircraft "breaking" the sound barrier – the Quiet Spike. The Quiet Spike is a telescopic nose device that softens the effect of the sonic boom by smoothing the pressure wave created by flying at the speed of sound. Gulfstream views lifting the current US supersonic ban as essential for a viable business case for supersonic aircraft.
File:Gulfstream G650 departs Bristol 23rdAug2014 arp.jpg|thumb|200px|Gulfstream G650 departs Bristol Airport, England, in 2014
In 2006, the 12-year production run of the G100 ended, and the Gulfstream G150 entered service to take its place. The G150 was the first business jet to be certified by the FAA for Stage 4, the industry's most stringent noise standards. Also in 2006, Gulfstream announced plans to expand its manufacturing and service facilities in Savannah. The seven-year, $400 million Long-Range Facilities Master Plan included the creation of a new service center, an independent fuel farm, a paint hangar and the addition of a new Sales and Design Center. As a result of the expansion, employment at the facility was expected to grow by some 1,100 jobs. To meet the immediate need for engineering office space, Gulfstream opened a Research and Development Center. The RDC accommodates approximately 750 technical and engineering employees.
In April 2007 Gulfstream broke ground for a new business-jet manufacturing building at its headquarters in Savannah. The following month, the company signed a nine-year lease with North Point Real Estate for a second Research and Development Center. The RDC II consists of an office building, which can accommodate 550 employees, and a laboratory building, which is designed for 150 employees and test equipment used in Gulfstream's research and development work. Gulfstream completed the new Sales and Design Center addition in June and officially opened the first phase of the new Savannah Service Center in August.
In 2007, Gulfstream tested its Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display and EVS II together for the first time. The SV-PFD is an enhancement to the Gulfstream PlaneView flight displays. It features a three-dimensional color image of terrain overlaid with the primary flight display instrument symbology, which are arranged on the screen to create a large-view area for terrain. By early 2008, the FAA had certified both EVS II and SV-PFD.
On March 13, 2008, Gulfstream announced the introduction of a new business jet: the Gulfstream G650. The G650 offered the longest range, fastest speed, largest cabin and most advanced cockpit in the Gulfstream fleet. It is capable of traveling at Mach 0.85 or will cover shorter distances at Mach 0.925, making it the fastest civilian aircraft flying at the time. It can climb to, allowing it to avoid airline-traffic congestion and adverse weather.
On October 5 of the same year, Gulfstream announced another addition to its business-jet fleet: the large-cabin, mid-range Gulfstream G250. It is capable of traveling at Mach 0.80 and has a maximum operating speed of Mach 0.85. It can reach its initial cruise altitude in 20 minutes and can climb to a maximum altitude of.
In 2009, the company conducted two powered rollouts one week apart. The Gulfstream G650 officially rolled out of the Savannah manufacturing facility under its own power on September 29, 2009. The G280 followed just one week later.
Both the G650 and the G280 flew before the end of 2009. The G650 took its first flight on November 25, while the G280 went up for the first time on December 11.