Story ID: 
WeatherTech Stretches G280’s Legs to the Limit
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: Despite its 3,600-nm book-number range, the G280 landed with reserve fuel in excess of NBAA IFR requirements on the record-breaking flight.
Word Count: 214
(Story modified 15:12 ET August 29, 2016 to include data from FlightAware)

A Gulfstream G280 owned and flown by David MacNeil, founder and CEO of automobile accessory manufacturer WeatherTech, flew nonstop from Chicago Aurora Municipal Airport to Tours Val de Loire Airport in France last month, marking the longest flight to date by the super-midsize jet, Gulfstream said. The airplane carried four passengers and two crewmembers, including MacNeil, in 7 hours 40 minutes at an average speed of Mach 0.80. According to data from FlightAware, the G280 flew 3,751 nm and experienced tailwinds in excess of 30 knots for much of the trip.

Despite its 3,600-nm book-number, no-wind range, MacNeil’s G280 landed with reserve fuel in excess of NBAA IFR requirements on the record-breaking flight, according to Gulfstream Aerospace. “This flight highlights the G280’s long-range capability and fuel efficiency,” said Gulfstream senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing Scott Neal.

“The G280 has exceeded our expectations for performance, comfort, safety, efficiency and range,” said MacNeil. “As an experiment on this trip, we climbed directly to the aircraft’s maximum altitude of 45,000 feet out of Chicago at maximum takeoff weight, and it never dipped below Mach 0.80.”

Since entering service in late 2012, the G280 has earned more than 50 city-pair speed records.