Really Quiet has doubled the warranty on its Stage 3 hushkit for the Gulfstream II/III to two years, 1,000h or 500 cycles in a bid to boost sales of the $1.5 million retrofit. The hushkit has been in service for two years, but only two GIIs have been retrofitted, for which New York-based Really Quiet blames the plunge in the value of Rolls-Royce Spey-powered Gulfstreams and the business-aviation downturn.
"An unprecedented recession [in the corporate market] has reduced Spey-powered Gulfstream values by well over 50% and they won't recover for a long time yet, if ever," says vice-president international sales John Mowinski. "Most operators are simply not spending any money except for maintenance and regulatory [compliance]."
Mowinski says Really Quiet has taken advantage of the hiatus to transfer production and engineering support to Midcoast Aviation in Cahokia, Illinois. "With two kits installed, both on GIIs, we are negotiating with some predominantly GIII operators to start installations at Midcoast shortly."
Really Quiet's translating-ejector hushkit includes an integ- rated thrust-reverser and acoustically lined jetpipe. Quiet Tech- nologies Aerospace has also certificated a translating-ejector Stage 3 hushkit for the GII/III.
Source: Flight International
