Gulfstream preparing for dual G650 first deliveries?
As we edge closer to the first Gulfstream G650 delivery I’ve been looking for clues that point towards who the lucky first customer will be. In a previous post of the subject,, I speculated that the first delivery might be msn 6006 which is due to go to Airfix of Finland as OH-GVV, but now it’s looking likely that Gulfstream will perform a dual delivery with msn 6007, the future N711SW, heading out from the airframers Savannah home on the same day.
Although both aircraft have been back in Savannah since the last week in September, both had been flying together as a pair, visiting Gulfstream’s Long Beach facility and performing a test flight before flying back to Savannah.
According to flight plan information on flightaware.com, the 2 aircraft flew as a pair on the below flights, within a few hours of each other:
G650 msn 6006 & 6007 recent flights
| Date | Flight Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 21/09/12 | Savannah > Yuma | |
| 23/09/12 | Yuma > Long Beach | |
| 25/09/12 | Long Beach > Long Beach | Local 1 hour test flights |
| 25/09/12 | Long Beach > Savannah |
 |
| N607GD snapped on its visit to Yuma. Photo Courtesy of FlightAware.com |
With the recent negative press regarding the fatal G650 test aircraft crash at Roswell New Mexico in 2011, Gulfstream will be looking to regain positive column inches. And with Gulfstream themselves stating that the roughly half G650s will be shipped to non US customers, what better way than to deliver 2 G650s on the same day, 1 to a US client, and 1 to an International client.
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It’s possible this event will take place at the NBAA later this month.
Agreed, the G280 is taking suspiciously long as well ….