This article is published in Aviation Week & Space Technology and is free to read until Aug 23, 2024. If you want to read more articles from this publication, please click the link to subscribe.
The Gulfstream G400 on its first flight at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport in Savannah, Georgia.
Gulfstream Aerospace announced the successful first flight of its G400 large-cabin business jet at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport in Savannah, Georgia, a milestone that launches the company’s flight test program.
The G400 took flight on Aug. 15, 2024, for a two hr., 54 min. trip, reaching a top speed of Mach 0.85 and an altitude of 41,000 ft. The aircraft was fueled with a blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from the manufacturer’s Savannah campus.
According to Gulfstream, the G400 represents a “new standard” for next-generation business aircraft. Gulfstream has called it an entry-level large jet.
“The completion of the first flight marks a significant milestone for the G400,” Gulfstream President Mark Burns says. “It demonstrates, yet again, the maturity of Gulfstream’s new aircraft programs and the advantages created by the intentionally designed commonalities shared across our next-generation fleet.”
Gulfstream introduced the G400 in October 2021 with a price tag of $34.5 million. In April 2024, Phebe Novakovic chairman and CEO of General Dynamics, Gulfstream’s parent company, told analysts that the program was performing “extremely well.” The company has earlier said it expected certification in 2025, but in April, Novakovic said, “I’m kind of out of the detailed predicting mode.”
The G400 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW812GA engines and features a high-speed wing and winglet design, previously introduced on Gulfstream’s G500 and G600 aircraft. The G400 also features Gulfstream’s Symmetry Flight Deck and Predictive Landing Performance System for enhanced flight safety.
The jet offers three choices of floor plans, with space for up to nine, 11 or 12 passengers, 10 panoramic oval windows and a plasma ionization clean air system to provide the “lowest cabin altitude in its class,” according to Gulfstream.
A mockup of the G400’s interior will be available for viewing at Gulfstream’s Savannah-based showroom and at its sales and design center in Beverly Hills, California.
Related Content
