Like many of its Gulfstream brethren, the G650 has beautiful lines, impressive speed and range, and can fly as high or higher than many commercial airliners. But while the G650 was also Gulfstream’s first fly-by-wire (FBW) aircraft, it still cannot operate without human help. Maintenance technicians must keep the two Rolls Royce engines purring—and all electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical systems working smoothly. Ground handling crew must ensure that the aircraft is fueled, that the oxygen is topped off, and that the baggage is loaded. The cabin attendants see to the care, comfort, and safety of the passengers on board. And, of course, the pilots fly the aircraft.
All these people work together to make a G650 fly. What do they have in common? They can all receive G650-specific training from FlightSafety International (FSI).
At the Top of the Learning Curve
FlightSafety enjoys a unique 50-year partnership with Gulfstream, which began shortly after production of the first GII in 1967. Using an actual GII flight deck atop a hydraulic motion base connected to analog computers, FSI’s founder Albert Ueltschi and his crew developed simulator-based training courses for the new business jet nearly as soon as the first unit rolled off the production line. Just one year after the GII became the first bizjet to cross the Atlantic from the U.S. to Europe nonstop in 1968, Gulfstream named FSI its factory-authorized training provider. FlightSafety has produced simulators for every Gulfstream model since, including the newly certificated G700.
“Our 50-year partnership with Gulfstream provides unparalleled pre-certification access to engineering and data,” said Nathan Speiser, FSI executive vice president of sales and marketing. “We’re able to start working on the simulator and training modules for a new model up to two years before they expect the new model to be certificated.” Speiser noted that FSI’s two G700 simulators received Level C interim certification in mid-2023, almost a year before the aircraft was certificated in March 2024.
“That close knit relationship between [FSI] and Gulfstream ensures that when we bring the courseware to the customer they’re getting the best, most accurate information right from day one,” said Speiser. “There’s no learning curve, because we’ve done the learning curve alongside the OEM. When you have this level of cooperation and trust over 50 years, you start to understand the OEM’s methodologies and best practices, and you can pass that knowledge on to your customers.”
Developing the simulators and pilot training courses to be ready for the G650’s launch in 2011 took much the same path as the G700 course did today. It’s a long process that starts well before the training is needed as FSI’s engineers start building the simulator even while Gulfstream’s engineers are still working out the kinks in the real cockpit.
“We’ll often help with developmental simulators,’ which allow engineers to determine how they’re going to lay out controls and test functionality,” said Richard Meikle, FSI executive vice president of operations. “Once they’ve built the cockpit layout, then we’ll build a copy using the same components, and program the simulator from their computer modeling and flight test data. The result is a simulator so accurate in both tactile feel and flying characteristics that it’s common for Gulfstream pilots or engineers to ask if they can use our sim to try something out.”
Gulfstream customers who train with FlightSafety benefit greatly from this in-depth high-fidelity transfer of systems knowledge direct from the OEM that can’t be gained anywhere else. Currently FSI offers more than 45 G650-specific pilot and maintenance training courses at five Learning Centers throughout the United States and Europe, including one location across the taxiway from Gulfstream’s manufacturing facility on the northeast corner of Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
“We’re situated on the Gulfstream campus just across the airport from the engineering research and development group,” said Meikle. “You literally drive past a Gulfstream security guard to get to our facility. This proximity makes it easy to have one-on-one conversations between the teams of engineers. When one of the FlightSafety team calls a contact at Gulfstream and say, ‘it’s Danny from FlightSafety,’ they know exactly which Danny they’re talking to, and that allows them to have conversations that you typically wouldn’t have without that level of trust and familiarity.”
The trust between FSI and Gulfstream is further demonstrated by the fact that FlightSafety trains the OEM’s pilots on their own aircraft.
“Gulfstream sends their test, production, and demo pilots to us for training,” said Meikle. “If our training wasn’t the quality Gulfstream expected, we would know about it—and so would the rest of the industry. We have earned their trust because they have seen the quality training expereince FlightSafety produces using the very highest quality in both simulation and courseware.”
FlightSafety has also partnered with Gulfstream to deliver specialty courses such as G650 controller pilot data link communication (CPDLC), advanced upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT), enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) touchdown and rollout training, and even a London City airport steep approach program specifically for G650 pilots. The partnership has also resulted in complete virtual aircraft tours of the G650 and other Gulfstream models to be used in the joint Total Technical Training program, which allows maintenance personnel to view the entire aircraft in the classroom and on the iPad.
Pilots Know Who the Expert is… It’s FlightSafety
The close relationship between Gulfstream and FSI also extends to the instructor corps. FlightSafety instructors are often involved early in a new aircraft/simulator program, which allows them to gain deep appreciation and insight into the design goals and philosophies of the engineers. Flying the simulators—sometimes before OEM pilots do—is an important part of developing the courseware and allows FSI instructors to send questions and feedback to Gulfstream engineers. Some FSI courses—particularly maintenance courses—feature both FlightSafety and Gulfstream instructors teaching together in a “tag-team” format.
FlightSafety instructors also maintain currency on the airframes they teach. Many of them fly as contract pilots, which keeps their skills sharp and allows them to share questions and experiences with their OEM counterparts. When changes are made to the aircraft, engines, avionics, or simulator, FSI instructors often know why the changes were made, and can pass this valuable information on to customers. This insider insight is valuable to both the instructors and the FSI customers.
“I get a lot of calls from customers who have questions and just want to talk to our instructors,” said Speiser. “They may have been in for recurrent training three months ago, but now they’ve got a technical question and they’re like, ‘man, I really know who the expert is – it’s FlightSafety. If they don’t know, they’ve got the name of somebody at Gulfstream who does know.’”
FlightSafety G650 flight training incorporates Rockwell Collins 6250 HGS heads-up display, EVS Enhanced Vision System II, Synthetic Vision, and other features found on the G650 flight deck. Classrooms used for initial training feature high-fidelity tactile flight training devices that allow pilots to obtain “muscle memory” of various procedures in the classroom before they enter the sim. These devices also incorporate FlightSafety’s MATRIX exclusive integrated instructional software, which leverages the powerful software used to operate the state-of-the-art Level D G650 simulators.
Customers trust FSI to keep its courseware and simulators updated to reflect changes made by the OEM. For example, In March 2024, FSI engineers implemented the Honeywell Primus Epic Block Three upgrade for Gulfstream G650 / G650ER aircraft into the simulators.
“The hardware for any given aircraft model typically doesn’t change, but there may be performance upgrades or changes between models we need to account for, such as the increase in gross weight between the G650 and G650ER,” said Meikle. “Customer-facing software upgrades like Block Three are critical because the avionics now provide the pilot with a different array of information. We need to train the way our clients fly because the vast majority of G650 operators are going to Block Three.”
Customers can also trust FlightSafety to provide training insights that no other training provider can thanks to its partnership with GE Aerospace which gives access to curated analyses of millions of flight operational quality assurance (FOQA) data points. Launched in October 2021, this partnership has helped FlightSafety develop curricula that addresses key issues in the industry such as runway excursions, loss of control at high altitude, and better go-around decision making. Individual instructors can also use aggregated FOQA data from more than 300 flight departments and 1,200 aircraft to provide insights to their clients, such as comparing a pilot’s landing technique to the aggregated data points for that aircraft model on a short runway.
“We can build scenarios using specific conditions identified by GE Aerospace in C-FOQA data and use that to compare to client performance during simulator sessions, the instructor can access performance data in the simulator and compare the touchdown point, when the pilot deployed the ground spoilers and thrust reversers, when they applied the brakes, and how much runway was left when they turned off the active,” Meikle said. “Comparing those flight data points to book values is a voyage of discovery for the client. They may find their technique results in a need to add 1,000 feet to short field calculations because they typically deploy the spoilers later. The aggregated data alone is very powerful. For example, displaced thresholds generally influence everyone’s touchdown point.”
Meeting the Demand for Pilots and Maintenance Personnel
With global airline capacity returning to pre-pandemic levels as of late 2023, the airlines are struggling to find enough pilots and maintainers to fill their schedules. This is partially due to the personnel shortages that existed before the pandemic that were exacerbated by thousands of furloughed airline employees switching to other industries. Huge sign-on bonuses and increased salaries at the airlines have pulled some pilots out of the business aviation sector, and filling those holes means the demand for initial training continues to rise as business aviation itself continues to grow.
Throughout the pandemic and into the post-pandemic operations, FlightSafety developed innovative options to keep training efficient, effective, and available.
“We’ve implemented some changes in our scheduling methodologies that have dramatically increased capacity,” said Meikle. “There really shouldn’t be any issue getting a G650 slot anywhere in our network right now.”
Some clients enjoy schedule flexibility by attending online, instructor-led ground school through FlightSafety’s LiveLearning portal. Available for G650 pilot and maintenance technician training, the LiveLearning courses allow clients to attend scheduled live, interactive online sessions from their own home or workplace to complete the ground training before arriving at FlightSafety for hands-on simulator or maintenance training. This option reduces the amount of time spent away from home and provides more flexibility in scheduling the onsite training at an FSI Learning Center.
“The training devices we use in the G650 program include desktop units that provide the tactile feel of the cockpit in a lot of ways,” said Speiser. “You’re not just sitting in front of a slide presentation. You have tactile instruments in front of you, then you move to a flight training device for procedure training. By the time you get into the simulator, you’re already familiar with the procedures. Pilots aren’t seeing the cockpit for the first time in the big $15 million simulator—they’ve seen it and played with it in the classroom.”
Some corporate flight departments find that sending their team to FlightSafety can be a great employee retention tool, especially for those who enroll in FSI’s Master Aviator or Master Technician program. These programs require pilots and technicians to complete additional on-site and/or online training, including core and elective courses. For pilots, these classes cover topics such as advanced rejected takeoff go/no-go, crew resource management/human factors, energy management, and runway safety. Technicians focus on a specific aspect of maintenance, such as the airframe, avionics, cabin systems, composites, engines, or management. Both pilots and technicians can earn multiple Master certificates over time.
“When a flight department invests in their pilots enough to send them through the Master Aviator program, the pilots are not only the most prepared aviators, they are typically also the most loyal,” said Speiser. “We hear from our customers that the Master Aviator program is an amazing employee retention, career progression opportunity.”
Training Ground Handling and Service Crews For Over a Decade
To minimize damage caused by improper ground handling, FlightSafety and Gulfstream introduced a complimentary ground handling and servicing training program in October 2013. Since then, more than 160 FBOs in 30 countries have participated in the free online training, resulting in over 26,000 course enrollments. Tailored for line service technicians, the program features best practices for handling and servicing Gulfstream aircraft, including parking, walkarounds, fueling, towing, snow and ice removal, and more.
Cabin attendants can also obtain G650-specific training at FSI’s Savannah Learning Center, where a partial Gulfstream fuselage provides realistic cabin safety training for dealing with smoke, depressurization, and evacuation emergencies.
“In Savannah, we have a large swimming pool with a cabin dunker that has a Gulfstream-type window in it,” said Meikle. “The cabin partially floods and the attendants have to get out onto the wing and then into the life raft, and then we can simulate winching them up into a helicopter rescue basket. It’s quite realistic training.”