Meanwhile, Gulfstream this week continued its “mine-is-bigger” sparring with other manufacturers, including Bombardier, by announcing that a Gulfstream G550 set another city-pair speed record: between Newark, N.J., and Tel Aviv, Israel. According to Gulfstream, the G550 flew the 5,031-nm route in 9 hours and 52 minutes, for an average cruise speed of Mach 0.86. Gulfstream says it is awaiting official recognition of this city-pair speed record by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA). If recognized, it would be the 15th city-pair speed record for the G550 since it first entered service nearly two years ago. The G550 took off from Newark International Airport at 8:16 p.m. local time on Aug. 28. It landed 09:52 later at 1:08 p.m. local time on Aug. 29 at Ben Gurion Airport. This new speed record demonstrates the G550s exceptional range and performance, which have become the hallmark of this outstanding business jet, said Bryan Moss, president, Gulfstream. Gulfstream Senior International Captain Hank Gibson served as pilot-in-command and International Captain Tony Briotta served as second-in-command. Also onboard were Carl Schomberg, production test pilot, who served as first officer, Gulfstream Chief Flight Attendant Sally Greer and five passengers. There are 59 aircraft comprising the G550 fleet. They have flown more than 25,000 flight hours and completed some 10,000 takeoffs and landings.
