Gulfstream G400 / G500 / G600

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.’s G400, G500 and G600 are twin-engine business jets produced by the Savannah, Georgia-based manufacturer which are commercial designations of the company’s GVII type.

Announced on Oct. 14, 2014, both the G500 and G600 are clean-sheet designs, with the former version of the GVII type (GVII-G500) making its first flight on May 18, 2015, from Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport. 

Subsequently, the first flight of a G600 (GVII-G600) took place on Dec. 17, 2016, a flight that also originated from Savannah. Those airframes were certified in the order in which they made their first flights, with the G500 receiving FAA certification on July 20, 2018, ahead of the G600’s receipt of FAA approval on June 28, 2019. 

Following the certification of the G500 and G600, the smallest GVII-based airframe—the G400—was announced by Gulfstream on Oct. 4, 2021, with that airplane’s first flight occurring on Aug. 15, 2024.

According to the FAA type certificate data sheet (TCDS) that includes the GVII-G500 and GVII-G600, both airframes are certified to carry up to 19 passengers, in addition to the two required pilots. 

However, Gulfstream notes that when the cabin is configured for sleeping accommodations, the respective passenger capacities of the G500 and G600 are reduced to 8 and 10. 

Also common to those versions of the GVII are the finished cabin height (6 ft. 2 in.), finished cabin width (7 ft. 7 in.) and cabin altitude while flying at 41,000 ft. (3,255 ft.), specifications that are shared by the G400. 

Furthermore, the G500’s cabin has a length (“excluding baggage”) of 41 ft. 6 in. and a cabin volume of 1,715 ft.³, specifications that the G600 expands to 45 ft. 2 in. and 1,884 ft.³ 

Although it has yet to be certified, the G400 is expected to be able to accommodate as many as 12 passengers or up to five passengers with sleeping accommodations. 

Beyond being limited to a lower passenger capacity than the G500 and G600, the G400’s cabin length (36 ft. 4 in.) and cabin volume (1,441 ft.³) are also reduced. 

Pilots operate all GVII commercial designations by utilizing the Symmetry Flight Deck, with the G500 and G600 noted as having features such as active control sidesticks and 10 touch-screen displays, as well as an enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) and synthetic vision – primary flight display.