Does anyone know when the G650 will enter service? I saw an ad for a July delivery position and was a bit surprised because I’ve not seen anything from Gulfstream to indicate that customers will soon receive their aircraft. Any idea as to who will receive the first planes? When past models have been introduced customers have been willing to pay huge premiums in order to be at the top of the list.
The last I heard was first delivery sometime this quarter. I saw an ad for a late 2014 delivery position so yes if you want one now you will have to find a company that is willing to let you trade up or buy it from them. Not unlike the NFL draft.
who gets the first planes was decided long ago when gulfstream began accepting letters of intent to buy
not sure if one of the remaining 4 test planes will go to a customer after losing one of them last year
check ksav on google earth - you’ll see 12-14 of them on the east side of the new facility (sw area of the airport - south of sheltair)
interesting to see that s/n 6020 flew to ebace in geneva last week - that is not a test plane serial number
evidently, it set a couple of city pair records
The article I read about the trip to Geneva also said they expect certification “this year”. I knew they had started production but I think it was with the expectation of being certified about now. No doubt the four remaining test airplanes will go back to the factory and then outfitted for delivery. They may lease one back as a demonstrator but very rarely do the manufacturers not deliver perfectly good airplanes.