Gulfstream Hopeful for G800 Certification by Midyear
Both the G800 and G400 programs are going ’very nicely’
Gulfstream’s new G800 will have a category-topping 8,000-nm range. © Gulfstream Aerospace

Gulfstream Aerospace remains hopeful in obtaining certification of what will become the longest-range aircraft in its fleet, the G800, by midyear, according to Phebe Novakovic, chairman and CEO of the Savannah, Georgia manufacturer’s parent, General Dynamics.

Releasing the year-end 2024 results Wednesday morning, Novakovic told analysts: “We expect the 800 certification sometime in the first half.” This keeps the program largely in line with earlier estimates that the G800 would follow the G700 certification by about a year. The G700 won approval in late March.

Noting the commonality of parts with the larger G700, she added, “We have worked our way through the most significant problems that we experienced on the 700…so we think the learning that we achieved on the 700 will be very advantageous on the 800.”

The 8,000-nm aircraft that can reach speeds up to Mach 0.925 shares a wing, tail, fuselage cross-section, flight deck, and Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 turbofans with the G700.

However, unlike the original ambitious schedule for G700 deliveries, she noted that the company expects to deliver fewer G800s this year than it had planned for the sibling aircraft. In fact, deliveries of the G800, combined with the predecessor G650, are anticipated to be close to that of this year “give or take a few airplanes.”

Gulfstream late last year began flying the test aircraft dedicated to cabin interior testing, and president Mark Burns affirmed at the time that the program “is making great progress.”

Meanwhile, Gulfstream is progressing on the smaller G400, which made its first flight in August. Able to fly at 4,200 nm at Mach 0.85, that model features the wing and winglet design of the G500 and G600, along with the Symmetry flight deck.

Novakovic said the company is not planning any deliveries in its guidance for 2025 and was less clear about the certification timeline. “The 400 will come obviously after the 800,” she said, adding: “When we’re getting certification, that's beyond our control. But both programs are going very nicely.”