Gulfstream Aerospace announced an extended-range version of the G650–dubbed the G650ER–today at EBACE. Available for both new aircraft and as a retrofit for in-service aircraft, the approximately $2 million ER option stretches the G650’s 7,000-nm range to 7,500 nm at a cruise speed of Mach 0.85, making the G650ER the longest-range business jet when it is certified later this year. At Mach 0.90, the ER can reach 400 nm beyond the baseline G650 to fly 6,400 nm.
Gulfstream has already flown a G650ER demonstrator on a 7,494-nm flight from Hong Kong to New York in just 14 hours 7 minutes at Mach 0.865. It also flew nonstop from Los Angeles to Melbourne.
Little modification work is needed to turn a G650 into a G650ER, given that Gulfstream left sufficient space in the wings to add another 4,000 pounds of fuel. Maximum ramp weight rises to 104,000 pounds from 100,000 pounds, but Gulfstream says it had already built in adequate structural margins in the G650 to handle the ER’s higher weight. The Rolls-Royce BR725 engines remain unchanged, but the software for the fuel-quantity measuring and flight management systems has to be updated to account for the extra fuel and performance gains.
Deliveries are slated to begin in the first quarter of next year, following FAA approval. EASA certification is expected to follow in 2016.
