Flight testing of the Gulfstream G150 S/N 201 is “proceeding as planned” at Israel Aircraft Industries’ (IAI) flight-test center at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. According to an IAI spokesman, at press time the midsize twinjet had logged 30 hours during eight flights, reaching a speed of 330 kcas/Mach 0.87 and 45,000 feet.

Two aircraft will take part in the test trials, which will end early next year after the aircraft log about 235 flight hours. IAI said flight testing is so short because the G150 will be certified as an amendment to the G100 type certificate. (The G150 will also supersede the G100.) S/N 202, a production standard G150, will join the currently flying instrumented test aircraft later this year.

Gulfstream said it has orders for more than 50 of the $13.5 million twinjets, with deliveries scheduled to start in next year’s third quarter.