Globe-girdling G650 Logs Four City-pair Records

The wide-cabin Gulfstream G650 recently established four city-pair speed records in five days, the Savannah, Ga.-based aircraft manufacturer announced yesterday. “The G650, which entered service just over two months ago, is redefining what business jet operators can expect from their aircraft,” said company president Larry Flynn.

The G650’s most recent city-pair record came on January 28 on a flight from Moscow Vnukovo Airport to Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. It flew the 4,774-nm route in 9 hours 33 minutes, with an average speed of 574 mph.

But the string of records started five days earlier, when the G650 made a nonstop, 6,475-nm flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Qatar’s Doha International Airport in 11 hours 40 minutes, for an average speed of 603 mph. On January 25, the G650 traveled from Doha to Teterboro (N.J.) Airport in 13 hours 3 minutes, averaging 537 mph over the 6,102-nm route.

Finally, on January 26 the airplane covered the 4,190-nm trip from Teterboro to Moscow Vnukovo in 7 hours 47 minutes. The G650’s average speed was 619 mph. All of the records are pending approval by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association, which will then send them to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in Switzerland for recognition as world records.