Gulfstream Says the G280 Is Alive and Well

At a news conference on March 30, Gulfstream Aerospace CEO Mark Burns addressed a rumor that had recently surfaced about the company’s super-midsize G280. An article published in The Globes indicated to some that Gulfstream planned to invest in a next-generation G280, leading many to believe the current G280 might soon become history—a rumor Burns said was absolutely not true.

Heidi Fedak, Gulfstream Aerospace’s director of corporate communications, offered some context to the claim. “We (and likely you) have heard rumors that production of the G280 is poised to end and the aircraft will be replaced in our lineup by something else. Those rumors, in large part, are being perpetuated by our competitors, who have chosen to focus on hearsay and conjecture rather than the capabilities of their aircraft in the super-midsize space. And let me just say, we’re flattered. Their focus on our capabilities and programs vs. their own shows what a strong competitor the G280 is in the mid-cabin market.”

Burns and Derek Zimmerman, president of Gulfstream’s customer support, told the news conference audience the company is working hard to make sure the workhorse airplane continues to work hard for years to come. Gulfstream has 212 G280s in service. Burns said, “Several of the upgrades in the works focus on streamlining the workload for pilots, enhancing the experience for passengers and increasing overall safety.”

Fedak added, “A few of the options that will soon be available for the Collins avionics system aboard the G280 include a surface management system to alert pilots to unsafe ground and arrival operations that reduce the risk of runway incursions, as well as vertical weather information and predictive windshear.” Passengers will soon benefit from an “air purification system, which complements Gulfstream’s already 100-percent fresh-air environment and has proven in lab tests to kill pathogens and allergens. This process neutralizes particulate matter—not just bacteria and viruses, but also unpleasant odors from organic material like cigarette smoke.”

The G280 will also benefit from improved cabin pressurization that currently delivers a 7,000-foot cabin up to FL450. “Finally, we’re also streamlining requirements for operators by increasing the interval required to perform reduced vertical separation minima, or RVSM, monitoring flights from every two years to every eight years,” Fedak said. Future G280 buyers can take advantage of the G-280′s recent official Stage 5 noise certification, as well as add CPDLC for FANS-En Route as well as predictive landing performance capabilities.