Fourth G500 enters flight test program

Fourth Gulfstream G500 test aircraft

The Fourth Gulfstream G500 has joined the flight test program.

The G500 took off from the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport at 9:47 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, with flight test pilots Eric Holmberg and Brian Dickerson at the controls. Flight test engineers Dominic Pompeo and Mark Mondt provided on-board test and data analysis.

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The G500 completed a 3 hour 17 minute flight fat a maximum altitude of 51,000 feet/15,545 meters and reached a maximum airspeed of 340 KCAS/Mach 0.925.

“The first flight of T4 speaks to the growing maturity of the G500 flight-test program and the significant development we completed before we even launched flight test in May 2015. To have four first flights and more than 580 flight hours in just nine months is quite an accomplishment.” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream.

“The first flight of T4 speaks to the growing maturity of the G500 flight-test program and the significant development we completed before we even launched flight test in May 2015.”

The fourth aircraft T4 will be used to test avionics, flammable fluid drainage, and water ingestion. It will also perform flight standardisation and operations evaluations.

The fifth aircraft (P1) has been delivered to the Savannah Completions Center, where it will become a fully outfitted production aircraft and will be used to test the interior elements.

Fourth Gulfstream G500 test aircraft first flight