Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group.&nbsp;He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion,&nbsp;the&nbsp;student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot&nbsp;magazine, he joined&nbsp;AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.

Online Editor

Chad Trautvetter

Gulfstream “held its own again in the third quarter” despite a planned five-week plant shutdown, Jay Johnson, the president and CEO of parent company General Dynamics, said yesterday during a third-quarter investor call. Due to the shutdown, Gulfstream delivered 14 green large-cabin jets in the quarter versus 24 a year ago; it also delivered only three green midsize jets in the three-month period compared with 16 last year. However, Gulfstream still plans to deliver 73 large-cabin aircraft this year–down from the 87 it shipped in 2008–and in the “low 70s” next year, though midsize production could be reduced further in 2010 since this segment remains “unsettled,” Johnson said. Gulfstream’s backlog currently stands at more than $19 billion and, while down $3 billion from last year, he said large-cabin production is sold out in 2010, as well as much of 2011 and 2012. According to Johnson, the business jet market has stabilized and “Gulfstream [will] be ever stronger quarter by quarter.” He further noted that demand for large-cabin Gulfstreams–especially from international customers–improved steadily through this year. Johnson said the current order intake is 60-percent international, with Asia Pacific and Europe taking the lead.

Large-cabin Gulfstreams Sold Out in 2010

Gulfstream “held its own again in the third quarter” despite a planned five-week plant shutdown, Jay Johnson, the president and CEO of parent company Gener

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