The US FAA has issued a provisional type certificate for the Gulfstream G650 and cleared the manufacturer to begin the final phase of manufacturing for the ultra-long-range business jet.
Full certification is scheduled for the first quarter next year after Gulfstream finishes the first interior completions. First deliveries to customers will follow in the second quarter.
"We are pursuing a two-step certification approach to keep us on track for our planned deliveries in the second quarter," said Gulfstream president Larry Flynn.
First delivery is planned one year after a G650 crashed during what Gulfstream described as a "difficult" test point: a low-speed, single-engine, high angle-of-attack test. Four members of Gulfstream's flight test staff were killed in the incident.
Despite the crash, Gulfstream has managed to keep the programme on schedule. So far, all four G650s involved in the flight test programme have recorded 2,225h during 675 flights.
Meanwhile, more than 20 G650s are currently in production at Gulfstream's factory in Savannah, Georgia. The seventh G650 in production was flown on 15 November.
Source: Flight International
