Fourth Gulfstream G500 Joins Test Fleet American airframer Gulfstream just announced further expansion of the testing regime for the G500 aircraft. They have added a fourth aircraft to the testbed team and T4 has already made its first flight. The initial flight lasted approximately 3 hours and 17 minutes. The G500 took off from the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport at 9:47 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, with Flight Test pilots Eric Holmberg and Brian Dickerson at the controls. Flight Test engineers Dominic Pompeo and Mark Mondt provided on-board test and data analysis.
During the initial flight the aircraft performed as expected with no major alarm. The aircraft climbed to a maximum altitude of 51,000 feet/15,545 meters and reached a maximum airspeed of 340 KCAS/Mach 0.925. During the 3-hour and 17-minute flight, the crew exercised all primary flight control systems, performed functional checks of air data and cabin pressurization systems and completed a series of engine performance measures. The aircraft landed back in Savannah at 1:04 p.m. local time.
One of five G500 aircraft involved in the flight-test program, T4 will be used to test avionics, flammable fluid drainage, water ingestion and select systems (water/waste, lighting, fire protection). It will also perform flight standardization and operations evaluations. “The first flight of T4 speaks to the growing maturity of the G500 flight-test program and the significant development we completed before we even launched flight test in May 2015,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream. “To have four first flights and more than 580 flight hours in just nine months is quite an accomplishment.” For more information: Gulfstream Aerospace 500 Gulfstream Road Savannah, GA 31407 www.gulfstream.com ***
