Gulfstream 250 Model Rolls Out

For the second week in a row, a new Gulfstream model has rolled out.
Gulfstream Aerospace and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) yesterday rolled out the Gulfstream G250 at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel. Like its G650 big brother did last week, the G250 rolled out under power from its new, more powerful Honeywell engines. First announced in October 2008, the large-cabin, mid-range G250 remains on schedule for customer deliveries in 2011.
The G250 is a follow on to the G200. The new model features a new, larger wing, a new T-tail, longer cabin, new three-screen PlaneView cockpit based on Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion system, and new Honeywell engines; the changes are so significant the aircraft will get a new type certificate. The aircraft is built by IAI in Tel Aviv and then completed by Gulfstream in Dallas, Tex.
“Our customers played a significant role in the design of this aircraft,” said Pres Henne, senior vice president, Programs, Engineering and Test, Gulfstream told thousands of IAI workers, vendors and customers gathered in an IAI hangar for the ceremony. He said the changes resulted in a “best-in-class aircraft and one its owners can appreciate and fly with pride.”
The G250 is capable of traveling 3,400 nautical miles at 0.80 Mach and has a maximum operating speed of 0.85 Mach. With an initial cruise altitude of 41,000 feet, it can climb to a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet, the company said. Although Gulfstream has refrained from disclosing the number of orders for the $24 million jet, IAI Chairman Yair Shamir announced at a press conference preceeding the rollout that nine aircraft had been sold to date. Plans call for the aircraft to fly before year end, and for deliveries of certificated airplanes to commence in 2011.
by- James E. Swickard and William Garvey