Gulfstream Aerospace Jets Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. Gulfstream designs and manufactures business jet aircraft. Since 1958, Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 aircraft. Gulfstream's fleet of jets consists of the following models: G150, G280, G350, G450, G500, G550, and G650. Gulfstream Aerospace began as Grumman Aircraft Engineering in the late 1950’s, a company that produced military aircraft in Bethpage, N.Y. The first Gulfstream was originally named the “Grumman Gulfstream I”. The GI had a maximum speed of 350 mph at 25,000 feet and a range of 2,200 miles. The aircraft, the first airplane designed specifically for business, prompted Grumman to develop the jet-powered Grumman Gulfstream II or GII. For the GII program, Grumman separated the company’s civil and military aircraft production for efficiency. In 1966, they relocated civilian aircraft manufacturing to Savannah, GA. The location supplied skilled labor, an airfield and land for expansion. Transportation was suitable for heavy equipment and machinery as well as year-round weather that was favorable for flight-testing made Savannah the right choice. The new facility began operation in 1967. It housed production and tooling for the GII. Approx. 100 people worked in Savannah and grew to over 1,700 within a few years. In 1972, Grumman merged with light-aircraft manufacturer American Aviation Corp. Within a year, Gulfstream was sold to American Jet Industries and entrepreneur Allen Paulson, who became the president of the company and renamed it Gulfstream American. Paulson immediately began developing the Gulfstream III for increased speed and range over the GII. In 1979, the GIII made its first flight and began delivery in 1980. It was the first private jet to fly over the north & south poles. In 1981, Gulfstream introduced the Gulfstream GIIB, a modified version of the GII fuselage and the GIII wings, with winglets. It offered the weight and performance characteristics of the GIII, but with a shorter GII fuselage. Gulfstream delivered approximately 40 GIIBs. By 1982, the Savannah work force had grown to 2,500 employees and the company's name changed to Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., better representing their worldwide reach. In the same year, the Gulfstream IV was conceived. The following year, Gulfstream made 8.8 million shares of its stock available to the public. Then in 1985, Chrysler Corp. bought Gulfstream as part of the automaker's plan to move into high-tech industries. This was the same year that Gulfstream first appeared on the Fortune 500 list, at No. 417. Some two years later, the 200th and last Gulfstream III delivered and the first Gulfstream IV was delivered. The GIV was the first business jet to incorporate an all-glass cockpit. In 1989, Chrysler chose to sell Gulfstream, so Paulson partnered with a private equity firm, Forstmann Little & Co., who bought Gulfstream back. The 1990’s was a decade of advancements for Gulfstream. The company signed a five-year contract with NetJets in 1994, completed the Gulfstream V Integration Test Facility and rolled out the GV – the first ultra-long range business jet – in 1995. Then in 1996, a $16 million Savannah service center with 136,000 square feet (12,635 sq m) of hangar space followed. In 1997, Gulfstream began to simultaneous manufacture two different aircraft models – the GIV-SP and the GV. Soon thereafter came the GV's first delivery, setting nearly 40 speed and distance records between various cities. As the 1990’s came to an end, General Dynamics, a defense industry giant, purchased Gulfstream. The company focused on lowering production costs and tweaking aircraft performance. Opening a $5.5 million aircraft refurbishment facility in Savannah, they acquired Galaxy Aerospace who manufactured the Astra SPX and Galaxy, later becoming the G100 and G200. During this time period, Gulfstream purchased four U.S. maintenance facilities in Dallas; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; and West Palm Beach. These centers, along with Gulfstream’s facility in Westfield, Mass., became General Dynamics Aviation Services, dedicated to maintaining and repairing Gulfstream jets, as well as other business-jet aircraft. In 2002, Gulfstream relabeled its products, dropping Roman numerals and adapting Arabic numerals to represent their various models of aircraft. At the time, the company's models included the ultra long-range G550 and G500, the long-range G400, the mid-range G300 and G200, and the high-speed G100. In that same year, Gulfstream introduced its Airborne Product Support aircraft, a specially equipped G100 used to deliver parts and provide any-time service to Gulfstream customers in North America and the Caribbean who are operating aircraft under warranty. Thinking globally, Gulfstream acquired a service center at the London-Luton Airport in 2003, the same year the long-range G450 was introduced. Then, mid-range G350 was presented a year later. In 2004, Gulfstream was awarded the 2003 Collier Trophy for the development of the G550. It was the second time in less than a decade that Gulfstream had won the award. The G550 is the first civil aircraft to receive a Type Certificate issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that includes an Enhanced Vision System (EVS) as standard equipment on an aircraft. The aircraft also contained the first cockpit to incorporate PlaneView®, an integrated avionics suite featuring four 14-inch (36 cm) liquid crystal displays in landscape format. In 2005, Gulfstream developed a way to reduce sonic booms; a device they call the Quiet Spike, a telescopic nose extension that reduces the effect of a sonic boom by changing the pressure wave that builds at the speed of sound. In 2006, Gulfstream announced a $400 million, seven year plan to expand their Savannah facilities, which would add a 624,000+ sq. ft. service center, a fuel farm, a 42,000 sq. ft. paint hangar and finally, a new sales office. A few advancements took place in 2007 with Gulfstream’s Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display system. The SV-PFD was a big improvement PlaneView flight displays. It featured a 3-D terrain color image overlaid with the primary flight display instrument symbology. By 2008, the FAA had certified both EVS II and SV-PFD. Nearly 40 countries have adapted Gulfstream jets for government and military use, including 27 that use Gulfstreams to transport dignitaries and heads of state. Gulfstream aircraft have also been configured for missions such as priority cargo, aerial reconnaissance, medical evacuation and even astronaut training. The aircraft's performance and reliability has earned Gulfstream the privilege of serving all five branches of the U.S. military, as well as Fortune 500 corporate operators. In 2008, Gulfstream introduced the the G650, which offered the longest range, fastest speed, largest cabin and most advanced cockpit in the Gulfstream fleet. With a 7,000 nautical mile range at a cruise of Mach 0.85 and sprint speed of Mach 0.925, the G650 is the fastest civilian aircraft flying. With its 51,000 foot operational ceiling, it can fly over airline-traffic congestion and avoid adverse weather. Toward that end, in January 2011, General Dynamics Aviation Services was rebranded as Gulfstream to simplify its brand identity in an expanding global market and to enhance the service experience for customers. Gulfstream now owns and operates nine service centers worldwide, plus one component repair facility. Today, Gulfstream employs more than 11,500 people at 11 major locations: Savannah, Ga.; Appleton, Wis.; Brunswick, Ga.; Dallas; Las Vegas, Nev.; Lincoln, Calif.; London, England; Long Beach, Calif.; Mexicali, Mexico; Westfield, Mass.; and West Palm Beach, Fla. Click Here for News, Reviews, Images & Forums on Gulfstream Jets ***