Faster and faster
Lauded as the world’s longest-range business jet, the Gulfstream G650ER is one of the fastest as well, having just set two new city-to-city records to ring in the 2017. In January, the company’s flagship model left John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio and touched down at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China after an elapsed time of 14 hours and 35 minutes. The bullet-like bird flew the 10,853 km at an average speed of Mach .85 (1,040 kph).
Flying faster still, the aircraft went on to depart Taiwan’s Taipei Taoyuan International Airport and arrive at Arizona’s Scottsdale Airport having maintained an average speed in the air of Mach .90 (1,102 kph) throughout the 9,886km–trip, which took just 10 hours and 57 minutes.
Introduced in 2014, the extended-range version of the G650 has a top operating speed of Mach .925 (1132 kph), a maximum cruising altitude of 15,544m, and a range of 12,070km. With the most spacious interior in its class, the plane can carry up to 19 passengers in comfort, and the cabin gets a complete infusion of 100-percent fresh air every two minutes.
