The race is heating up in the Gulfstream hush kit market, as three providers maneuver for the inside track. Stage III Technologies and Quiet Technologies Aerospace (QTA) continue their respective and long-time efforts to obtain STCs for hush kits for the Gulfstream II and III. An update on their programs, as well as one by the single company that already has an STC, were presented before a packed room of Gulfstream operators here on Tuesday.
Miami-based QTA now projects its STC will be awarded in November, about two months later than the revised schedule announced at the 2001 NBAA Convention last December. The company has teamed with Business Jet Services (affiliated with Business Jet Center in Dallas) to install hush kits. QTA is retaining the $1.5 million price of the kit up to 30 days after receiving the STC, whereupon the price will increase to $1.65 million. These prices apply only to Gulfstreams already fitted with Stage 2 hush-kit installations. The cost is higher for non-Stage 2-equipped aircraft.