GULFSTREAM’S NEW STAR PERFORMERS PROVE PEERLESS IN SERVICE WORLDWIDE湾流缔造新一代业界霸主
Ultra Long-Range G650 And Super Midsize G280 Claim 31 City-Pair Speed Records； More On The Way
By the time this issue went to press， one can be reasonably assured that a new Gulfstream G280 or G650 has set or is in the process of setting yet another speed record， somewhere in the world. Even as you’re reading this， perhaps. After all the rigors of repetitive and restrictive testing， testing and more testing leading to final certification， it was high time for Gulfstream to let its pair of thoroughbreds fly off into the real world and show off their “stuff” just a bit. As all Gulfstreams tend to do， the G280 and G650’s actual performance numbers didn’t quite match up with earlier engineering projections. Both models， in fact， significantly exceeded them. For example， the G280 is now certified to fly 3.600 nautical miles （nm） non-stop with four passengers at Mach 0.80， with NBAA IFR fuel reserves； some 200 nm farther than initially estimated. But that’s not all. The G280s balanced field length was reduced from 4，960 feet to 4，750 feet， which is an improvement of more than 1，300 feet， compared to the earlier G200， which it replaces.
G650与G280已创31项城际飞行速度记录；更多记录留待客户自己实现
湾流航空航天公司于2008年推出的G650是超大型机舱、超高速公务机中的旗舰型号，而最新的G280则是超中型公务机市场中巡航速度最快、航程最远的机型。毋庸置疑，当你在阅读本期专栏时，这对“兄弟”可能已各自在地球某个地方刷新了速度记录。在历经繁复而苛刻的测试之后，它们终于纷获认证，商务航空的天宇中将有两匹新的神骥呼驰而过，向世界证明它们的实力。
秉承湾流公司一贯的风格，G650和G280现有的飞行能力远远胜出当时的技术预估。就拿G280来说，在NBAA IFR节能标准及0.8马赫的航速状态下，它的认证航程达到3600海里（6667公里），超出预期航程约200海里。不仅如此，G280的起飞跑道距离也由预计的4960英尺减少到4750英尺，比起之前的G200缩短了1 300英尺之多。
G280 Accounts for 22 City-Pair Records
As to the G280’s city-pair records， sorry but we don’t have space to list all 22 – at last count – but will point to a couple the company feels are particularly significant， as part of what Gulfstream calls its “Voluntary 250-hour internal reliability demonstration/ testing program.” For example， the G280 flew non-stop 1，640 nm from Aspen， Colorado – think snow skiing – to Fort Lauderdale， Florida – think water skiing– in just 3 hours， 21 minutes at Mach 0.84 cruise. Particularly impressive was a 4，124 nm non-stop flight from Honolulu， Hawaii to Savannah， Georgia– which happens to be Gulfstream Aerospace’s home base – in 8 hours and 19 minutes at an average Mach 0.80 long-range cruise speed. The objective of Gulfstream’s on-going reliability demonstration program is of course to ensure customers receive the extremely reliable， high-performance aircraft they were promised. As Mark Burns， President， Product Support， puts it：“This is just one more way we’re going above and beyond for our customers.”Just think of the G280s records as testimonials. Amazing， really， for an aircraft that has only been in service since November 14， 2012.