Gulfstream G280 Flaunts Long Range on Transatlantic Flight

A Gulfstream G280 owner recently had the chance to show off the midsize business jet’s range on a nonstop flight from Chicago Aurora Municipal Airport to Tours Val de Loire Airport in France. The flight was the jet’s longest to date.

David MacNeil, founder and CEO of automobile accessories manufacturer WeatherTech and owner of the G280, last month flew 3,922 nm along with four passengers and one other crew member. The flight took 7 hours and 40 minutes at an average speed of Mach 0.80, according to Gulfstream.

"This flight highlights the G280's long-range capability and outstanding fuel efficiency," said Scott Neal, Gulfstream senior vice president of Worldwide Sales and Marketing. "This is another example of a Gulfstream aircraft exceeding a customer's expectations."

The G280, with a listed range of 3,600 nm at Mach 0.80, landed with reserve fuel in excess of NBAA requirements for IFR on the transatlantic flight.

“After we considered many super-midsize jets, the G280 has far exceeded our lofty expectations for performance, comfort, safety, efficiency and range,” MacNeil said. “As an experiment on this trip, we climbed directly to the aircraft’s maximum altitude of 45,000 feet out of Chicago at maximum gross takeoff weight, and it never dipped below Mach 0.80.”

The jet, which features two Honeywell HTF7250G engines producing 7,624 pounds of thrust each, boasts more than 50 city-pair speed records.