Story ID: 
Flashback: Gulfstream unveils G650
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: We look back at some memorable events and coverage from AIN's half-century-old archives.
Word Count: 312
With AIN Media Group's Aviation International News and its predecessor Aviation Convention News celebrating the company's 50th year of continuous publication this year, AIN’s editorial staff is going back through the archives each month to bring readers some interesting events that were covered over the past half-century.

REWIND:(April 2008) Ending protracted speculation about how it would address the aging fuselage cross-section of its large-cabin business jets, Gulfstream Aerospace last month took the wraps off the G650, which will topple (but initially not replace) the G550 from its perch as the top Gulfstream business jet when it enters service in the first half of 2012.

Performance targets include 7,000-nm range at Mach 0.85 and 5,000-nm range at Mach 0.90. The top speed of Mach 0.925 will displace, by about three knots, the Mach 0.92 Cessna Citation X from its title as the world’s fastest civil aircraft.

With the G650, Gulfstream intends to regain its title as “biggest, farthest, fastest” among dedicated business jets (as opposed to converted airliners). The company has already committed to the project without launch customers and will start taking orders for the upper-$50 million (2012 $) jet on April 15.

FAST-FORWARD: The G650, which heralded the start of the wide-cabin, ultra-long-range business jet category, made its first flight in November 2009. Despite a fatal April 2011 crash during its flight test program, the airframer made its first delivery in December of 2012, and in 2014 it was awarded the 2014 Collier Trophy for the G650’s development, “which strengthened business aviation through significant technological advancements in aircraft performance, cabin comfort, and safety.”

That same year, the even-longer-range G650ER variant entered service, months before its projected service date. Today, while Gulfstream prepares its successor G700 for certification, and with the even larger G800 under development, the G650/650ER remains in its product line with more than 400 in service.