Story ID: 328
Gulfstream G600 Makes LABACE Debut
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: The fly-by-wire Gulfstream G600 took time off from its certification testing to fly to Brazil for its first LABACE appearance.
Word Count: 460
The Gulfstream G600 made its Latin American debut at LABACE 2018, arriving just before the show opened August 14 at São Paulo Congonhas Airport. At LABACE, the G600 is on static display alongside a super-midsize G280 and the company’s flagship ultra-long-range G650ER. FAA certification of the fly-by-wire G600 is expected by year-end.

The G600 on display in Brazil has an interior that won top honors for jet cabin design at the 2018 International Yacht & Aviation Awards. Among the features in this interior are a mirrored mid-cabin bulkhead and quilted seats. 

Gulfstream's seats also won the seating award in the Product Category. The seats are available in three styles: Sport, Classic, and Minimalist and were designed in Gulfstream's Research and Development Center. The Classic seat features "mid-level bolstering that creates a blend of strong support and generous freedom of movement." The Sport seat, one of the more popular options, is designed for long flights and is fitted with "robust bolstering." It also comes with a contoured mattress insert to facilitate berthing for sleeping configuration. For customers who want a seat more optimized for comfortable berthing and "a greater focus on the sleeping surface for long-range flights," Gulfstream offers the Minimalist seat, which has the least amount of bolstering. All three styles can be customized with details, including quilted inserts, decorative stitching, seat arm accents in leather, fabric, veneer, or lacquer, and a variety of leather and upholstery options.

“We are excited to have the G600 at LABACE for the first time,” said Gulfstream senior v-p of worldwide sales Scott Neal. “The G600 is ideally suited to the Brazilian and Latin American markets. Departing from major cities in Brazil, it can reach the continental U.S. and Europe nonstop, at speeds from Mach 0.85 to Mach 0.90. It also is capable of reaching Africa and parts of the Middle East.”

The G600's cabin, like its sibling the G500, which recently received simultaneous FAA and EASA certification, measures 91 inches wide and 74 inches high. This puts the new G500/G600 cabin dimensions between those of the G550 and earlier Gulfstream models at 84 inches wide and 72 inches inch and the G650 at 98 inches wide and 75 inches high. The G600's range at high-speed cruise of Mach .90 is 5,100 nm, and a long-range cruise speed of Mach .85 range climbs to 6,500 nm. Both range numbers are 300 nm more than originally projected.

More than 205 Gulfstreams are based in Latin America, of which about 70 percent are large-cabin models such as the G650/650ER and G550. Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela are the three largest Gulfstream operator bases within the region, with approximately 100, 45, and 25 aircraft, respectively. The Gulfstream fleet in Brazil has grown nearly 10 percent since 2013, according to the company.
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