Gulfstream has called time on the G650 business jet.
The Savannah-based manufacturer on 12 February said it has produced the last of the type, closing a chapter on an aircraft that helped create the ultra-long-range, large-cabin business jet segment.
“This aircraft will move to the next phase of the completions process at Gulfstream’s Appleton, Wisconsin facility before making its official delivery to a customer later this year,” Gulfstream says.
The company in 2008 launched development of the 7,000nm-range, twin Rolls-Royce BR725-powered G650, and completed the type’s first flight later that year. At the time, the jet was the fastest civilian aircraft in production, with a Mach 0.925 cruise speed.
Gulfstream secured the G650’s certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration in 2012, overcoming a fatal crash during testing in April 2011. It delivered the first of the type in December 2012.
The company subsequently developed the G650ER, with an additional 500nm of range.
Gulfstream has produced nearly 600 G650s and G650ERs since the programme’s inception.
“The G650 and G650ER have become the industry standard that all others have followed, recently surpassing a staggering 1 million flight hours,” says Gulfstream president Mark Burns “The G650 laid the groundwork for today’s next-generation Gulfstream fleet.”
Gulfstream continued producing G650ERs in recent years despite having introduced two successors: the 7,750nm-range G700 and 8,000nm-range G800.
Gulfstream achieved the G700’s certification in 2024 and has said it expects to have the G800 certificated this year.
