Gulfstream G500 completes load testing
Fourth Gulfstream G500 test aircraft
Gulfstream Aerospace has completed ultimate load testing for the Gulfstream G500.
Ultimate load represents 150% of limit load and is equivalent to a 1.5 safety factor specified by the FAA and EASA. Limit load is the maximum level that an aircraft should experience once during its service life.
Carried out over five months, the testing focused on the aircraft’s fuselage, wing, vertical and horizontal stabilisers and control surfaces.
“This is a significant accomplishment in development of the G500.”
Mark Burns, president of Gulfstream said: “This is a significant accomplishment in development of the G500. The successful completion of these tests confirms the airframe’s solid construction, fulfills certification requirements and clears the way for us to proceed with additional testing.”
Gulfstream will now conduct an additional company test, applying increasingly higher loads to determine the structural test article’s destruction point. Destructive testing of aircraft components is important to demonstrate and refine Gulfstream’s engineering models, designs and analysis methods.
Later this year, Gulfstream will begin a multi-year fatigue program for the G500 that will simulate three lifetimes of airframe operation.
