Story ID: 
Gulfstream G250 Soars Ever Closer To Certification
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: Three super-midsize G250 flight-test airplanes have flown more than 1,150 hours and 400 flights, and the jet remains on schedule for certification later th
Word Count: 190
Three super-midsize G250 flight-test airplanes have flown more than 1,150 hours and 400 flights, and the jet remains on schedule for certification later this year, Gulfstream Aerospace said this week at EBACE in Geneva. The Honeywell HTF7250G turbofan received FAA certification on March 18 and delivers substantially lower emissions compared with the earlier version, the HTF7000. All static, limit/ultimate load testing has been completed on the G250, and fatigue testing is under way. The G250 will also exceed the 10-percent minimum of the 40,000 cycles needed for certification, according to Pres Henne, Gulfstreamπs senior vice president of programs, engineering and test. Natural icing, far-field noise, high-elevation and water-ingestion tests are also done. The G250 is the launch airplane for the Rockwell Collins Fusion cockpit (branded as Gulfstream PlaneView in the G250) and the latest software load is running in the G250 avionics. All seating static and dynamic tests are complete, and an "iron bird" for the cabin is located at Gulfstreamπs Dallas maintenance facility for testing interior installation. The first customer G250, S/N 2004, should arrive in Dallas by the end of next month.