Gulfstream adds outfitted G400 to flight-test fleet

Gulfstream flew a fully outfitted G400 test aircraft for the first time, adding cabin evaluation to the certification campaign. Another G400 test jet also set a Miami-to-Las Vegas speed record in 4 hours and 8 minutes using a SAF blend.

• G400 fully outfitted test aircraft first flew from Dallas Love Field
• 2 hours 46 minutes in the air on the first outfitted flight
• 48,000 feet reached during that flight
• 4,200-nautical-mile range for the G400
• Miami-Las Vegas record flown in 4 hours 8 minutes at Mach 0.89 average

Gulfstream added a fully outfitted G400 to its flight-test program, a milestone that lets engineers test the cabin systems, passenger environment and interior behavior at altitude. The aircraft flew from Dallas Love Field for 2 hours and 46 minutes and reached 48,000 feet.

The G400 is a 4,200-nautical-mile large-cabin jet. Gulfstream said the wider test program will use four aircraft, and one of them flew from Miami to Las Vegas in 4 hours and 8 minutes at an average Mach 0.89 while using a sustainable aviation fuel blend.

For buyers, this is the stage where a paper aircraft starts looking like a deliverable product. Certification timing is still not fixed, but an outfitted test jet means Gulfstream is checking the parts passengers notice, not only the aerodynamics and systems pilots see.