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

Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft.

Chad Trautvetter

The model that redefined the ultra-long-range (ULR) business jet segment—the G650/650ER—is now out of production, Gulfstream Aerospace announced today. Earlier this month, the final one—a G650ER model—rolled off the production line at the company’s Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport campus in Georgia and will next be flown to Gulfstream’s Appleton, Wisconsin facility for completion before being delivered to a customer later this year.
Gulfstream announced the G650 program in March 2008, unveiled the first prototype (dubbed T1) in September 2009, and flew T1 two months later. On Sept. 7, 2012, the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2012-09-07/gulfstream-g650-crosses-certification-finish-line">G650 obtained FAA</a> certification, and the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2012-12-20/gulfstream-delivers-first-g650">first delivery</a> on Dec. 27, 2012. Until today’s announcement, the G650 and its longer-legged (7,700 nm) <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2014-11-18/gulfstreams-7500-nm-g650er-enters-service">G650ER sibling introduced in 2014</a> have been in continuous production since then. They will be succeeded by the G800, which borrows the G650/650ER’s fuselage and is poised to enter service later this year.
“With the G650 and the follow-on G650ER, Gulfstream created the large ULR segment,” JetNet iQ director Rollie Vincent told AIN. “With almost 600 jets in service today, there is nothing diminutive about this family of business jets. With service entry in 2012, the G650 quickly established itself as the aircraft of choice for many corporations, high-net-worth individuals, and governments needing the capabilities of a high-speed wide-cabin intercontinental jet. The ER version, introduced in 2014 and perfectly timed to capture demand from customers seeking access to the farthest corners of the world, became the high watermark in Gulfstream’s portfolio.”
“Since their inception, the G650 and G650ER have become the industry standard that all others have followed, recently surpassing a staggering <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2024-05-16/gulfstreams-g650-fleet-logs-1m-flight-hours">one million flight hours,</a>” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “Beyond the program’s innumerable accolades and 125+ world speed records, innovations introduced with the form, fit, and precision manufacturing process of the G650 laid the groundwork for today’s next-generation Gulfstream fleet.” The Rolls-Royce BR725-powered G650 won the prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy in 2014.
“While this will be the final G650 produced, the fleet’s high utilization and dispatch reliability mean these aircraft will serve customers for decades to come,” Burns added. “As with any Gulfstream aircraft completing production, our customer support and program management teams will continue to research, develop, and deploy advanced technologies and upgrades for retrofit, such as Honeywell Primus Epic Block 3 announced in July and Starlink high-speed internet announced in October,” Burns said.

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The model that redefined the ultra-long-range business jet segment—the G650/650ER—has now ended production, Gulfstream Aerospace said today.

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