Gulfstream G500/600 OK'd for Lower-mtow Ops

Gulfstream received FAA approval last week for aircraft service change (ASC) 005 that lowers the maximum ramp and takeoff weights for the G500/600, enabling the twinjet models to use airports with 75,000-pound-mtow limits. Specifically, this list includes Florida’s Naples Airport (KAPF), which limits operations to aircraft with dual gear to a certified maximum gross weight of 75,000 pounds or less.

Those limitations are a problem for the G500 and G600. The G500 has ramp and maximum takeoff weights of 80,000 pounds and 79,600 pounds, respectively, while the G600 has a ramp weight of 95,000 pounds and an mtow of 94,600 pounds. The mod—which is achieved via a placard and aircraft flight manual amendments—lowers these weights to 74,900 pounds for the two large-cabin Gulfstreams, rendering them legal to use at KAPF. On the G600, it also lowers the max landing weight to 74,900 pounds, while the G500’s remains unchanged at 64,350 pounds.

At airports without such weight limits, the ASC 005 placard can be removed to allow operators to take advantage of the higher weights permitted under the original type certificate, a Gulfstream spokesman told AIN.