Gulfstream V Ops Survey

Operators Survey
Gulfstream V
Operators love its long legs, high-altitude performance,
short-field capabilities, reliability and Gulfstream’s customer support.
By Fred George
he Gulfstream V could serve as a classic example of market competition
and product differentiation taught at
any graduate level business school. In the
general aviation market, the GV proves that
business aircraft buyers are willing to give
up cutting-edge airplane technology in favor of rock-solid dispatch reliability and
top-notch customer support, as we discovered during our recent survey of GV operators in North America, Europe and the
United Kingdom.
Some industry pundits were disappointed
in the GV’s evolutionary design when Gulfstream announced the program at the September 1992 Farnborough Air Show. But
operators said the approach resulted in rapid
product maturation in the first few years after its 1996 entry into service. Now it’s a
gas-and-go transportation asset.
“Reliability was the main issue. Our two
GVs have never let us down. And Gulfstream is really, really good at service and
support,” said Tom Fleming, head of AirFlite’s corporate flight department, which
previously operated an early serial number
Global Express.
“The Global Express was having growing pains when the owner chose the GV,”
commented Mike Santiago, who flies a GV
managed by TAG Aviation. “We liked the
Global Express cabin a lot, but it also was
suffering a lot [of problems],” explained Bob
Lazear, head of Costco’s flight operations.
The GV was available at the right price, so
Costco put one in service in March 2002.
“The competition has a nicer cabin, but
the GV just has great reliability,” said Ed
White, head of Amgen’s fledgling flight department. White said he’s averaging a 99.48
percent rate, much to the satisfaction of
top management. That helps to secure the
long-term future of Amgen’s new aviation
operation.
Delivery slot availability and completion
center speed also was a key decision point.
“Our CEO looked at the Global Express,
but it was about a year behind our GV,” said
Photography courtesy of Gulfstream Aerospace
T
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Curtis Barsi, who runs Schering-Plough’s
flight department.
There’s also intangible, but powerful,
family loyalty associated with the GV. Several folks said they’ve operated Gulfstream
jets for decades, earning top management’s
unwavering devotion to the marque.
“We’ve always been in the Gulfstream
family,” said Paul Glavey of Amerada Hess.
“We operated a GIII, a GIV and now the
GV. Our chairman has a real loyalty to
Gulfstream products,” commented Pat
Johnson, who flies a GV for Countrywide
Funding.
“We bought our first GII in 1972, followed by a GIII in 1982, and we had a GV
on order when we bought Gulfstream,” said
Gary Rogerson, who flies for General Dynamics, parent company of Gulfstream
Aerospace.
Gulfstream’s reputation and strong emphasis on product support earned plenty of
plaudits. “It has great reliability, great customer support and a great name in the community,” said Jeff Taylor, who flies a GV for
Dallas-based Radical Ventures. “Gulfstream’s support is well above the competition,” said Steve Ohmstede, who flies a GV
based in the Northeastern United States.
“Gulfstream’s product support is above and
beyond the competition. That will make or
break you when you have problems,” offered Costco’s Lazear. “Gulfstream’s reputation [for product support] is second to
none,” remarked one northwest U.S. operator. Such comments were echoed by Ed
Radkey at Marathon Oil, Richard Tedesco
at Lockheed-Martin and Gene Lanman at
Troutt LLC, among others.
Top Five Features, Dislikes
and Maintenance Concerns
Operators fired off their top five GV features at Gatling gun speeds. Cruise performance attributes, such as climb rate,
range, speed and fuel-efficiency ranked
close to the top of the list.
“Our boss wanted range, range and
range,” said Robert Hughes, head of Alcoa’s
flight department. “We never sweat fuel,”
said Schering-Plough’s Barsi. “There’s almost never a [fuel level low] pucker factor,
even when flying from New Zealand to San
Diego,” said General Dynamics’ Rogerson.
“It’s the GV’s overall wing performance. It
climbs like hell, cruises fast and goes far,”
said Thomas Knobloch, who flies a GV for
Basel-based Interjet AG.
Dispatch reliability ran a close second.
“It’s bulletproof,” offered Lockheed-Martin’s Tedesco. One Minnesota operator even
listed reliability twice among his top five
features. Alcoa’s Hughes, Radical Ventures’
Taylor and Ken Peartree, head of HewlettPackard’s flight department, plus Amerada
Hess’s Glavey, AirFlite’s Fleming and K.C.
Norman of Cargill, among others, said reliability was the aircraft’s best feature. “It
makes our department look good,” said
Peartree.
Mission flexibility and short-field performance also are favorites. “We’ve operated comfortably out of a 4,000-foot
runway,” said Troutt’s Lanman. “We’ve
flown it nonstop from Steamboat Springs
to London,” said Mike Wilson, chief pilot
for Houston-based Service Corporation International (SCI).
“It has slow ref speeds and great brakes,”
said Chuck Saul, who flies a GV managed
by TAG Aviation. Many operators said
the aircraft’s relatively high 75,300pound max landing weight enables it to
tanker fuel, thereby enabling them to “Just
say no” when the price on the pump is
stratospheric.
Product support consistently made operators’ top five lists. “Gulfstream’s really
gone to the mat for us,” commented AirFlite’s Fleming. “They wave that flag and
they really do deliver,” said James “Butch”
Fortune, who flies a GV for United Cos.
Several favorite features competed for
fifth place. Some operators said they liked
the GV’s low DOCs, relative to the GIVSP and earlier Gulfstream jets. Others
mentioned the GV’s handling qualities
and reduced pitch and roll control effort, likening it to a GII. Folks said
Gulfstream’s signature, wide oval cabin
windows are a plus, helping to make the
cabin look and feel larger. Some mentioned short-field performance, commenting on its relatively low V speeds.
Business & Commercial Aviation ■ March 2005 35
Operators Survey
The aft section can be fitted with two pairs of seats facing a conference table. At least half of the GV
operators have the galley installed in the aft of the aircraft.
A GV is typically configured with facing pairs of individual chairs and/or three-place divans.
In many GV aircraft the forward section is configured as a convertible crew rest, three-place divan or
executive work area.
36 Business & Commercial Aviation ■ March 2005
Low noise levels in the cabin also were
cited by operators.
In contrast, when asked about the aircraft’s five worst features, several operators
seemed stumped for answers. The most
common response, though, was the design
of the GV’s fresh water system. Operators
said it’s difficult to purge all the water prior
to storing the aircraft outside in cold
weather. Residual water in the system can
freeze and crack the plumbing lines.
Gulfstream changed the design of the
fresh water plumbing when installation was
moved back from the completion process
into green aircraft production. The firm
now has identified the problem and is offering a no-charge retrofit kit to cure the
problem.
Some operators also griped about grabby
brakes. Each main landing gear has a massive four-disk carbon pack, enabling the aircraft to be stopped from 188 KIAS at
MTOW in little more than 3,000 feet, according to the Airplane Flight Manual. But
they said it’s difficult to modulate braking
action gently for passenger comfort. Gulfstream has developed a brake line restrictor mod that’s supposed to eliminate the
problem. Operators said the mod is only a
partial solution. The brakes still are touchy,
so Gulfstream is working on a permanent
solution.
Much discussion centered around AD
2003-07-11, the recurring ultrasonic inspection of the Rolls-Royce Deutschland
BR710 fan hub intended to detect cracks in
the disc that holds the fan blades. The original 25 flight cycle inspection interval was
extended to 75 to 150 flight cycles, depending on part number. Operators say they
want a permanent fix that will eliminate the
recurring AD altogether. In response,
Rolls-Royce Deutschland is developing a
modification that will increase fan hub inspection intervals to 600 flight cycles, according to Gulfstream officials. This
inspection requirement also applies to
Bombardier Global Express series aircraft
that also use the BR710 turbofan.
Some operators, such as ScheringPlough’s Barsi, Troutt’s Lanman and Bob
Russell of Pentastar, among others, said the
cabin is too narrow for 13- to 14-hour missions. Those who’ve operated Global Express aircraft were the most vocal on this
perceived shortcoming. All five generations
of large-cabin Gulfstream business aircraft,
dating back to the GI in 1959, have shared
the same fuselage cross section. Tube size
wasn’t often perceived as a problem by
those operators who mainly fly four- to fivehour transcontinental sprints and eight- to
10-hour transatlantic dashes.
The net usable baggage compartment
volume also is too small, a few operators
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said. Fresh water tanks, vacuum lav equipment and other systems components hog
much of the 224-cubic-foot compartment
that otherwise would hold passenger gear.
Gulfstream changed systems layout in the
baggage compartments of G500/G550 aircraft to increase available storage volume.
Notably, a few folks, such as Interjet’s
Knobloch, experienced significant problems with landing gear bushing corrosion,
components furnished to Gulfstream by
Goodrich. If bushing corrosion becomes
significant, it can require total replacement
of the landing gear, resulting in a $213,000
bill for parts alone, according to Knobloch.
Gulfstream and Goodrich discovered a
problem with the original metal plating
process used to protect the bushing and
bearing surfaces. Now Goodrich uses a
high-velocity oxygen fueled (HVOF) plating process that both improves corrosion
resistance and lowers repair costs.
Very few operators could come up with a
list of top five maintenance headaches. But
a few reiterated concerns about long-term
care for the fresh water system line damage
caused by water freezing. And, as noted earlier, some said they desire a fix for the
grabby brakes and the fan blade AD.
Expensive and short-life nav lightbulbs
have been the bane of aircraft operators for
decades, and Gulfstream has even come up
with a fix for those. There’s now a 5,000hour-life LED nav light replacement kit for
the GV.
How minor are these gripes? “We’ve
never had a maintenance [dispatch] cancellation,” said Greg Kesel, who flies a GV for
Rochester Aviation. Many others said the
same thing.
How Operators Fly the GV
The Gulfstream V was manufactured from
1995 through 2002, with 188 aircraft now in
service. It was replaced in 2003 by the G550
with the PlaneView cockpit, improved systems and more efficient cabin space utilization. The G500, a G550 with reduced fuel
capacity and a more standardized interior
layout, also was introduced in 2003.
The GV fleet has accumulated more than
403,000 hours total time, according to Gulfstream Aerospace. The fleet leader has
logged more than 8,000 hours and 3,300
landings.
Cabin layouts are split between forward
and aft galley configurations. Most aircraft
have both forward and aft lavatories, plus
permanently installed or convertible crew
rest compartments.
In the mid-1990s, Gulfstream marketing
officials claimed the GV’s Basic Operating
Weight would be 48,000 pounds, much to
the amusement of prospective operators
savvy to the realities of the completion
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The GV fleet has
accumulated more than
403,000 hours total time,
according to Gulfstream
Aerospace. The fleet
leader has logged more
than 8,000 hours and
3,300 landings.
process. By the time folks loaded up their
aircraft with satcom, HUD, EVS, satellite
TV, front and aft lavatories, and several
other popular options, the average BOW
ballooned up to 49,000-plus pounds, according to respondents in our survey. This
results in a full-tanks, three-passenger payload. But the GV with a 49,000-pound
BOW still can carry enough fuel to fly eight
passengers more than 6,300 miles and land
with NBAA IFR reserves.
While some operators report they fly the
ultra-long-range aircraft up to 14 hours, the
average mission is a mere 2.2 hours, Gulfstream officials said. Respondents to
B&CA’s survey said, though, they average
closer to 3.6 hours because some filter out
pre-positioning flights. On such bread-andbutter missions, they climb their aircraft directly to the mid-40s and cruise at 0.85
Mach. They flight plan an average of 3,500
pph for such relatively short sprints, typically planning 4,200 pph for the first hour,
3,600 pph for the second hour, 3,300 pph for
the third hour and 3,000 pph for the fourth
hour. If they slow down to 0.83 Mach, fuel
flow drops to 3,250 pph on average, operators said.
The average passenger load is 3.7 people,
but several operators reported averaging
six to eight passengers on domestic trips.
Very few GVs are flown on 6,500-mile
missions. NBAA IFR fuel reserves for the
ultimate long-range mission are 2,860
pounds. Most old salts said they weren’t
comfortable landing with less than 4,000
pounds in VFR conditions and 5,000
pounds in IFR conditions. Most respondents, as a result, said they weren’t willing
to fly more than 5,975 miles on average.
They’re also not willing to slow down to
0.80 Mach long-range cruise. Most said
they fly 0.85 Mach on missions up to 12
hours, slowing down to 0.82 to 0.83 Mach
if range performance becomes critical.
“We can fly 12-hour legs all the time,”
said Dale Wheeler, Avjet’s GV chief pilot.
But that’s at 0.80 Mach so that his pilots can
arrive with plump fuel reserves. Wheeler
said his computerized flight plans predict
first-hour fuel burns of 3,450 pounds, decreasing to 3,000 pounds during the second
hour and tapering off to 2,240 pph by the
end of the mission. Cargill’s Norman,
though, said he plans on 6,000 pounds for
the first hour and 4,000 pounds for the second hour, taking into account delays,
reroutes and less than optimum initial
cruise altitudes on the longest range missions. Norman isn’t comfortable flight planning to land with less than 5,000 pounds.
Initial cruise altitude on the longest range
missions is FL 410, with intermediate step
climbs into the mid- and high 40s along the
route. Operators said they almost never fly
above FL 490. Almost none reported soaring up to FL 510 to save fuel near the end
of long-range missions.
The most typical long-range mission is a
flight between any airport in North America and any landing facility in Europe,
Russia or the Ukraine.
Folks say they don’t often need to fill the
tanks on such missions and arrive at destination airports with fat reserves, even though
Average passenger load is 3.7 people, but some operators reported averaging six to eight on domestic trips.
Business & Commercial Aviation ■ March 2005 37
Operators Survey
Gulfstream V Report Card
O
1.0
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
O
1.0
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
O
1.0
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
1.0
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
O
1.0
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
O
1.0
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Airframe
Har dwar e
Landing Gear
Wheel Brakes
Flight Controls
Exterior Paint
Power
Interior
Rolls-Royce BR710
APU
Avi onics
Honeywell SPZ-8500
Honeywell NZ-2000
TCAS
EGPWS
O
Fire Protection
Pneumatic/Bleed Air
Syst ems
Electric Power
Fuel System
Hydraulic Power
Anti-Ice/Rain
Air Conditioning
Pressurization
Trai nin g
Oxygen
FlightSafety
CAE SimuFlite
Gulfstream Technical
S upp or t
Gulfstream Parts
Rolls-Royce Technical
Rolls-Royce Parts
Honeywell Technical
Honeywell Parts
38 Business & Commercial Aviation ■ March 2005
they’re cruising at 0.83 to 0.85 Mach.
Only a few operators fly with three pilots
aboard. If they need to fly more than 10 to
12 hours, they plan to split the trip into two
0.85 Mach high-speed cruise missions,
making an en route stop for refueling, a
crew switch and a passenger stretch. Flying
30 knots faster than long-range cruise
makes up most of the time spent during the
refuel stop.
The load factor thins out on the longest
trips. Operators say it’s not unusual to have
only two or three passengers aboard on the
longest missions. One reason may be the
limited number of seat pairs that can be
converted into berths. Operators say the
GV will sleep five or six depending upon
configuration, but it’s not easy to move
through the aisle when all seats are berthed.
Report Card
B&CA asked respondents to grade the airframe, engines, avionics and systems, plus
simulator training and customer support
from Gulfstream, Rolls-Royce and Honeywell. The grades were “A” for excellent, “B”
for good, “C” for average, “D” for barely
passing and “F” for unsatisfactory. Some
folks provided plus or minus modifiers for
the basic grade point. We then assigned
points to each of the grades and averaged
the results.
Overall, the marks were high. As shown
by the accompanying chart, the GV earned
high marks from operators for airframe
quality and reliability.
“I feel safe bouncing along in bad weather
on a crummy winter night,” said Kesel of
Rochester Aviation.
The GV received kudos for its simplified
electrical system; anti-ice system with its
automatic activation feature; soft ride, trailing-link landing gear; and well-harmonized,
reduced effort flight controls. The RollsRoyce BR710 engines would have scored
slightly better if there were a permanent fix
for recurring fan disc inspections.
The SPZ-8500 avionics were reliable, but
operators docked them points for slow response to programming changes, especially
the perceived limitations in NZ-2000 FMS
performance. (See “Honeywell SPZ-8500
Avionics” sidebar.)
Operators said the bleed air system needs
minor improvements, most notably
smoother scheduling of the fifth-stage lowpressure and eighth-stage high-pressure
bleed during high-altitude descents to prevent a slight surging in cabin pressurization.
At present, operators say they turn on the
wing anti-ice to increase the bleed air demand when they begin the initial descent.
That puts more demand on the system,
thereby eliminating the surges. Gulfstream
is in the process of certifying new ACM
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pack inlet valves and new pressure controllers that will be available as a no-charge
upgrade by June.
The fuel quantity management system
received a few gripes. Lockheed’s Tedesco,
for instance, said he’s had problems with
fuel quantity probes and connectors, plus
the selectable quantity refill system.
The GV is designed with three-zone climate control, divided into cockpit, forward
cabin and aft cabin sections. Some operators said temperature and air flow control
in the cockpit needs improvement. Gulfstream now has identified the problem and
a completely redesigned air duct system is
being installed in production aircraft. The
firm is evaluating an optional retrofit kit for
older aircraft.
Early GV aircraft had high hydraulic
pump failure rates. Each engine was fitted
with a pair of Vickers pumps for redundancy. This configuration proved unreliable, so Gulfstream retrofitted the
fleet with single-side Abex pumps. Operators reported no pump failures after the
modification.
The hydraulic system of the aircraft, similar to earlier Gulfstreams, also has an auxiliary subsection incorporated in the
left-side hydraulic system. The aux system
has an electric pump enabling it to power
the flaps, landing gear and main gear doors,
main entry door actuators and wheel brakes
when the engine-driven pumps are not operating. Unlike the GIV’s, the aux system,
rather than the main left-side system, also
powers the nosewheel steering. This means
that a leak in the nosewheel steering (NWS)
system can completely deplete all fluid in
the left-side system, including the two-gallon reserve in the aux reservoir, if the aux
pump is turned on continuously. Operators
caution that a few GV aircraft have suffered
complete loss of all left-side hydraulic func-
tions when the NWS system developed a
serious leak and the pilots turned on the aux
pump. Gulfstream subsequently developed
more-robust NWS components to prevent
possible leaks.
The overall grade for the wheel brakes
was a basic “B.” However, operators praised
the system for having strong stopping
power and long life. Gulfstream is continuing development of smoother braking action for the GV.
Exterior paint and interior completions
rated “B” as well. Operators said that the
new paint shop at Gulfstream Long Beach
center had initial quality control problems,
but a few operators also said the problem
was more widespread. Most of the shortcomings seem to have resulted from the
transition to low volatility paints in the early
to mid-1990s, coatings that are more difficult to apply than well-proven, linear
polyurethane paints.
Some operators also said they’ve have
problems with wood veneers delaminating
from cabinet structures and cracking in
high-gloss wood finishes. Most of the
problems were resolved under warranty.
Gulfstream officials said that the root
causes of such deficiencies have been identified and eliminated. The Long Beach facility’s quality control now is on a par with
Exterior paint and interior completions rated “B.”
The overall grade for the wheel brakes was a basic “B.” However, operators praised the system for
having strong stopping power and long life.
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Gulfstream Product Support:
Best in Class, Priced Accordingly
Operators praised Gulfstream for superb product support. “On three different occasions, we needed them here now,” reported Greg Kesel, who flies a GV for Rochester
Aviation. “And they were here now.” For folks within two or three hours of Savannah,
Gulfstream dispatches its dedicated G100 with parts for critical AOG situations.
A premium price tag accompanies such top-notch support, operators said. While
Gulfstream reduced prices on 2,700 items in April 2002 and 7,000 more parts in October 2004, operators still wince when they look at invoices.
Gulfstream’s best completion centers, according to the manufacturer.
FlightSafety International and CAE
SimuFlite now provide initial and recurrent
simulator training services, a choice lauded
by operators. Grades for the two firms were
closely matched, with FSI earning a slight
edge. Operators said the competition
caused FSI to improve its offerings considerably, but SimuFlite beats its rival on price.
SimuFlite lost a few points to FSI for the
quality of its classroom instruction, according to operators.
Product support from Gulfstream, RollsRoyce and Honeywell received good to
marks from operators.
Long-Term Loyalty,
But Temptation Lurks
Most operators are so enamored with the
GV’s reliability and Gulfstream’s product
support that it would take serious temptation to make them consider another brand
of long-range aircraft.
“Each [ultra-long-range] aircraft has its
shining moments,” commented Marathon
Oil’s Radkey. “The GV does everything far
better than we had hoped, and some competitors have had teething problems. This
is the best of the three offerings and it sailed
through delivery with no problems,” he said
Business & Commercial Aviation ■ March 2005 39
Operators Survey
Honeywell SPZ-8500 Avionics:
Proven and Reliable, but Slow
When Honeywell’s SPZ-8000 made its debut in the mid-1980s, it set new standards
for performance, capabilities and display technology. In keeping with the GV’s evolutionary design, Gulfstream chose a low-risk derivative of the GIV-SP’s SPZ-8400 for
the cockpit of its newest long-range business jet. The race was on to beat the Global
Express to the market and Gulfstream wanted no unexpected twists en route to the
winner’s circle.
Since the GV entered service in the mid-1990s, though, avionics technology has
leaped forward at a record pace, raising operators’ expectations regarding avionics
system performance. By today’s standards, the SPZ-8500 just seems too slow, according to some GV operators. The NZ-2000, in particular, was criticized for being too
slow to handle its complex 3-D navigation tasks, including step climbs and vertical
navigation waypoint/altitude crossing restrictions. Honeywell officials say the FMS’s
Pentium CPU has plenty of reserve power, but 3-D performance computations are
complex.
As for performance computation enhancements inside the NZ-2000, a Honeywell
representative said, “I don’t see much change.”
But Honeywell is working on reducing data transfer cross-loading delays between
FMSes. If triple FMSes are installed, though, more time is required to cross-load data
between systems. Honeywell is working on a reduced message set that will speed up
the cross-loading function.
John O’Meara, Gulfstream’s flight test director, said it’s also important to load flight
plan changes into the master FMS rather than the slave unit. And the most FMS-proficient pilot in the cockpit should program the system. He says he has not experienced
undue delays when using the NZ-2000 and SPZ-8500 avionics package, but he’s also
one of the world’s most experienced GV pilots.
Operators also complained about poor reliability of the infrared EVS camera. Gulfstream and Kollsman made improvements to the IR camera, boosting average reliability in G550s to 3,000 hours. As IR cameras are returned for service, they’re fitted
with upgraded sensors. This should boost MTBF to 10,000 hours, Gulfstream officials
claim. Gulfstream officials also say that even when it’s working per fectly, EVS
won’t see through wet clouds, and warm inversion layers cause some background
blooming.
Passengers also have had problems with the satellite TV system. Honeywell
officials say it’s mainly the result of making the transition from one satellite to another. This requires tracking of a new satellite and frequently a channel change. Honeywell is working on a software upgrade that will make better transitions between TV
satellites.
40 Business & Commercial Aviation ■ March 2005
while comparing the GV with the Global
Express and Falcon 900EX.
“It’s proven, rock-solid technology; it’s an
evolution from [Grumman] Bethpage,” said
TAG Aviation’s Saul. “Gulfstream Aerospace is financially sound, and there are
large numbers of GV aircraft in the fleet,
resulting in a broad field of expertise, and
good logistics and technical support.” Notably, Bombardier’s delayed entry into the
6,000-plus-nm range business aircraft market enabled Gulfstream to deliver 50 percent more GVs than Global Express aircraft
into service up until 2002.
“Gulfstream’s customer support is far superior. The GV’s overall performance is impressive, and it has better resale value,” said
Countrywide’s Johnson. Indeed, GVs appear to retain a higher percentage of original purchase price in the resale market.
The GV, however, needs a wider cabin for
ultra-long-range missions, operators such as
TAG’s Saul, Radical Ventures’ Taylor and a
Northwest U.S. operator, among others,
said. One large fleet operator who operates
a GV and a Global Express said his chairman always takes the Global unless he needs
the extra range offered by the GV. And with
deliveries of the longer range Global Express XRS now pending, the temptation to
change brands will become greater.
But Gulfstream’s product support was the
turning point in many sales competitions.
“Global Express just didn’t have the reputation for customer support,” said Kesel of
Rochester Aviation. It’s considerably improved now, but GV customers still say
Bombardier has a long way to go to catch
up with Gulfstream.
For now, the GV and its successors the
G500 and G550 retain the lead in this market segment. The later models entice GV
operators to upgrade with promises of more
available cabin room, the PlaneView cockpit, 250 miles more range and improved
runway performance.
Balance is the bottom line for the GV.
“I’ve been flying Gulfstreams since 1980.
The Gulfstream is the one to be on whether
in front or in back,” said TAG’s Saul.
“It has reliability, capability and flexibility
so you can fly when and where you need.
You’ll have to send no regrets to your chairman,” said SCI’s Wilson. “It’s a helluva lot
of fun to fly. It’s the epitome of what you’d
love to fly all the way to retirement,” said
Rochester Aviation’s Kesel.
“ This is what it boils down t o: It
has range, reliability, performance and
product support,” attested Lockheed-Martin’s Tedesco. GV operators savor this
overall mix of qualities. “It’s just a great
blend,” said Starbucks’ Jim Bennett. Comments like those smell sweet to the folks
in Savannah. B&CA
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