Gulfstream G280: The Oddest Gulfstream of Them All

Today, Gulfstream jets follow a certain pattern – increasing by the number “50” each time – yet there’s one Gulfstream-made jet that stands out from that pattern: the Gulfstream G280.

Beyond being a rather jet in terms of its designation, the G280 is also among the best private jets in the world, being loved by operators and pilots alike, having sold well over 200 times to date!

Pre-Gulfstream G280

In the late 1970’s, Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) would develop what they called the IAI Astra from their famed IAI Westwind. Eventually proving to be quite successful, several more variants of the Astra would be designed and built.

Proving to be quite successful, IAI would enter a joint venture with the Hyatt Corporation to form a US-based company called Galaxy Aerospace Inc. in 1997.

Eventually, Galaxy Aerospace would produce what it called the IAI Astra Galaxy, with the “Astra” name later being dropped, making it just the IAI Galaxy. Breezing through trials in only two years, the IAI Galaxy entered service in 1999.

In 2001, Gulfstream Aerospace would acquire 100% of Galaxy Aerospace Inc., buying out both IAI and Hyatt’s interests in the company.

To mark this, Gulfstream would rename the IAI Astra and IAI Galaxy as the Gulfstream G100 and G200 respectively. Gulfstream hoped that by placing the “Gulfstream” name on these jets, it would make them even more popular than they already were.

Not surprisingly, orders for the newly renamed G100 and G200 continued to pour in, with production for both jets secured for many years to come.

However, orders for the newer G200 would begin to try up as newer jets like the Challenger 300 and Cessna Citation Sovereign would begin to attract many would be G200 customers away from the G200 and to these newer jets.

Development

Seeing this, Gulfstream and IAI began working on a successor to the G200 that would outcompete the newer non-Gulfstream-made jets, in mid-2005. This new jet would be designated as the Gulfstream G250.

Hoping to make the G250 sell better, Gulfstream and IAI engineers would lengthen the G200’s cabin length by 17 inches (43 cm), thus allowing it to seat 10 people in a standard configuration, rather than eight.

As a result, the G250 would have an additional four windows, as well as access from the cabin to the baggage compartment – a feature not present on the Astra or Galaxy families.

To reduce operational costs, Gulfstream would also use brand new Honeywell HTF7250G engines, which were more powerful and more fuel-efficient than the engines used on the G200.

Similarly, Gulfstream engineers completely redesigned the G250’s wing, using the G550’s wing as a baseline. Not only did this increase aerodynamics, but also enabled the G250 to fly higher, where the air is thinner, thus increasing fuel-efficiency.

Beyond this, Gulfstream and IAI engineers would completely redesign the G250’s T-tail, making it larger for better control. For handling reasons, the G250 would also have a brake-by-wire system, an extensive of its fly-by-wire system.

Gulfstream and IAI would have a working prototype by late 2009. The G250 would first fly on December 11 2009, before being certified by aviation regulators across the world over the next three years.

For marketing reasons, the G250 would be renamed as the G280, as the number 250 can be translated as “stupid” or “idiotic” in Mandarin, which would dissuade many Asian operators (who’d previously operated the G200) from operating the G250.

As a part of an agreement signed by Gulfstream and IAI, the G280’s airframe would be built under license by IAI in Israel, before being flown to Gulfstream’s plant in Dallas, to have its interior fitted before being delivered to the customer.

Operational History

Following the G280’s first flight, it would be fully certified by late 2012, soon entering service on November 14th that year. From here, the G280 would go on to have a rather interesting operational history!

Private Jet

Almost immediately after the G280’s first flight, it began to catch the attention of high net worth individuals, who would place orders and later acquire the jet for their own personal use.

For the most part, high net worth individuals acquired the G280 due to its versatility.

Not only could it fly to and from regular private jet terminals like the ones at London’s Biggin Hill, New York’s Teterboro and/or California’s Van Nuys, but it could also fly to and from harder to reach airports such as those in mountain ranges.

This made it great for private flyers who fly a wide array of routes – especially if they enjoy a skiing vacation to somewhere like Switzerland, whose airports are famous for being some of the hardest to reach in the world!

Alternatively, it is also fairly cost-effective to fly on either long or short-haul flights, having a range more akin to the G600’s, but hourly costs more like the G100’s.

Owing to these facts, as well as the luxury and opulence of the G280, the jet has become a favorite among celebrities, who often use the jet to avoid being mobbed overzealous fans and/or the paparazzi.

To that end, most private individuals who own the G280 keep their ownership of the jet a secret.

Despite this, we do know a few people who own and operate the G280, including Robert Kraft (owner of the New England Patriots NFL franchise), basketball star LeBron James as well as French sportsman Paul Pogba.

Corporate Jet

Beyond private operators, the G280 also appealed to corporate operators too, especially those who’d previously operated the ageing IAI Astra/G100 and IAI Galaxy/G200 jets and wanted to replace them.

Here, the versatility of the jet, combined with its comparatively low operating costs and emphasis on luxury and comfort, led many corporations to place orders for the Gulfstream G280.

In this capacity, the G280 is used to transport C-Suite level executives, such as the CEO, COO and CFO, whilst on official business. For example, transporting them across the country to complete an acquisition, or to wine-and-dine a client.

Owing to the G280’s designation as a super mid-sized jet, it has the ability to transport up to 10 people (usually the number of C-Suite executives a standard-sized multinational corporation would have) over long distances at an affordable rate.

Yet, it’s cheap enough to operate, that it could be used to transport up to 10 people on shorter-haul routes as well (usually on routes that would usually be filled by jets like the Phenom 300) without costing an arm and a leg!

Much like their private flyer counterparts, many corporations tend to hide their ownership of the G280 to avoid overt displays of wealth, especially so if they’re involved in an industry that the public aren’t too friendly towards.

Despite this, we do know of a few corporations who operate the jet. Among these operators are Well Fargo Northwest Trust, Cummins Inc., Coca Cola FEMSA (Coca Cola’s Mexican subsidiary), Bank of America and XTO Energy.

Charter

Seeing the G280’s popularity as both a private and corporate jet, many executive charter companies have begun to acquire several examples of the jet, chartering them out to the rich and famous for a profit.

Currently, executive charter companies market the jet in one of two different ways. The first is as a low-cost option for those looking to fly in extreme comfort and style, whilst not break the bank doing so.

Here, these charter companies tend to emphasize the low-cost nature of the G280, sometimes doing so by comparing its cost per hour to that of Gulfstream’s other (larger) jets.

The second is as the jet you want if you want to fly on a longer-haul route between difficult to reach airports, such as those in valleys or mountain ranges, often pointing out the jet’s specs which make it perfectly suited for these kind of routes!

Interviewing the heads of several executive charter companies based in Europe and the US, they all say that the G280 is the most commonly requested jet in its class, surprisingly even beating the newer Legacy 500 and Praetor 600!

As of the time of writing it costs around $5,500 per hour to charter the G280, although this does depend on several factors such as route, time of year and the charter company you fly with.

Military

Whilst almost all G280s currently in service today are used by private individuals or corporations, the jet has proven to be so versatile that it has caught the attention of several of the world’s militaries too…

Currently, the only military operator of the G280 is the Philippine Air Force, who acquired the jet in September 2020 to replace their sole Learjet 60.

As of the time of writing, the Philippine Air Force operate their Gulfstream G280 in two distinctive roles depending on their needs at the time:

The first is as a VIP transport aircraft. Here, it is used alongside the Philippine Air Force’s Fokker F28 and CASA C-295 for transporting the Philippine President on medium-haul routes, usually confined to Asia.

Alternatively, it also used to VIP transport for other high-ranking members of the Philippine government, such as members of the cabinet or high-ranking military officers.

The second is as a command and control aircraft, being used by the Philippine Air Force to monitor Chinese and North Korean movements to ensure that Philippine interests are kept safe.

Features

In terms of size, the Gulfstream G280 is one of the largest private jets currently on the market. In particular, its cabin is one of the most spacious in its class (in terms of volume) being as much as 15% larger than the average jet in its class.

Beyond having a large cabin, the G280 also has a similarly large baggage area, which is up to 20% larger than the average in its class. Indeed, the G280’s baggage area is also the largest in its class too.

A key feature of the G280’s marketing material was that the G280 was one of the fastest business jets to have ever been built, being significantly faster than most of the other jets in its class.

Despite this, the G280 hasn’t sacrificed range for speed as many jets do. Alongside its incredible speed, the G280 also has one of the longest ranges in its class, and of all private jets in general too!

Sitting down to develop the G280, Gulfstream engineers designed it to be able to carry a larger payload than your average purpose-designed private jet, being able to carry a payload of 4050 lbs (1837 kg), which is the largest in its class.

Even in spite of its ability to carry a heavier payload than any other jet in its class (and most jets in other classes too!) the G280 only requires a relatively short runway, similarly having one of the lowest balanced field lengths in its class!

Price

Assuming you had the money to, you could purchase a brand new G280 directly from Gulfstream for around $25 million, making it the cheapest private jet that Gulfstream currently have for sale.

Despite this, the G280 has been in production since 2009, meaning that there are several G280s currently up for sale on the secondary market.

On the low-end – for a G280 produced in the late 2000’s and/or early 2010’s with a couple of thousand hours on the fuselage – you’d be looking at paying anywhere from $10.25 to around $13 million depending on the aforementioned factors.

On the higher end, it costs around $16 to $17.5 million to acquire a newer G280 – one built from the mid-to-late 2010’s to today with only a few hundred hours on the fuselage – similarly depending on the aforementioned factors.

In terms of the average cost to acquire a used G280, you’d be looking at around $15 million, or around the same amount as it would cost to buy a brand new Legacy 450 (a mid-sized jet).

Despite being the cheapest jet Gulfstream currently offers, the G280 is quite expensive to operate (in comparison to other jets). Assuming that you were to fly the jet for 450 hours a year, it would cost you $4,400 per hour to operate the G280.

Specifications

Specifications	Gulfstream G280
Length	66 ft 10 in (20.3 m)
Wingspan	63 ft (19.2 m)
Height	21 ft 4 in (6.5 m)
Crew	2
Passengers	10
Cruise Speed	850 km/h (528 mph; 459 kn)
Range	6,667 km (4,143 mi; 3,600 nmi)
Service Ceiling	45,000 ft (13,716 m)
MTOW	39,600 lb (17,960 kg)

How Safe is The Gulfstream G280?

When we think of the safest and most dangerous aircraft in our skies today, our minds naturally tend to float towards commercial airliners like the A320 and 747. Private jets like the G280, however, are often forgotten about…

And this is for good reason.

After all, when most people fly, they do so on a commercial airliner, with only relatively few flights taking place on private jets (by comparison) meaning that most people are more familiar with commercial airliners than private jets.

Yet, for those looking to fly on the Gulfstream G280, you’re probably wondering how safe it really is…

Surprisingly, (as of the time of writing anyway) the G280 has had a grand total of zero accidents, making it one of the safest private jets you could ever fly on, alongside the Challenger 350, which also has zero accidents.

For the most part, this is down to Gulfstream having learned from the mistakes IAI had made, that led to the G200’s various crashes (although it’s still quite safe), and them altering the G280’s design to prevent them from ever happening again.

It’s also partly down to Gulfstream educating owners on the necessity for keeping their jet well-maintained and making it easier for them too.

A word of warning however, just because the G280 hasn’t had a crash yet, doesn’t mean it won’t ever have a crash. Indeed, the second largest cause of crashes (behind pilot error) is poor maintenance.

If you’ve ever owned an old car, you’ll know that newer cars are easier to maintain as everything’s newer, whilst older cars are harder to maintain as their parts are older and thus, break easier.

The same principle also applies to private jets like the G280.

What’s it Like to Fly on a Gulfstream G280?

Over the course of writing this article, I had the good fortune of being able to travel on the Gulfstream G280 on several occasions, flying both newer and older G280s on a mixture of shorter and longer-haul routes.

For the sake of comparison, I have also flown on the G200 (which served as the basis for the G280).

Immediately getting onboard the G280, I noticed that it looked nothing like the G200. Whilst the exteriors of the two jets were similar to an extent, the G280’s interior was more akin to the G550, G600 or G650’s than the G200’s.

Yet, the G280’s interior isn’t a carbon-copy of the ones in Gulfstream’s larger jets. Whilst it has the wooden finishes that are a staple of other Gulfstream jets, other aspects like the seats and accents are wholly unique to the G280.

Speaking of the G280’s seats, and having flown on other Gulfstream-made jets (G550, G600, G650 etc.), I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they’re comfier than the one on the Gulfstream-made jets I’ve flown on!

From a pilot’s point-of-view, the G280’s cockpit is a work of art. Having an all-glass cockpit, it is one of the most modern cockpits I’ve ever seen, being loved by the pilots who use them.

Beginning to take off, I noticed that the G280 packed a far larger kick than the G200, with it being able to not only get off the tarmac at a quicker pace, but also climb to altitude much quicker too!

Despite all this, the main thing I disliked about the G280 was that you could only access the baggage compartment in-flight if the jet was lower than 40,000 feet for regulation purposes.

Whilst a minor inconvenience to most, for me this was a big issue, as right before takeoff, I began fretting about whether I had everything I’d need to work in-flight with me, rather than in my bag, as I knew it would be difficult to get it during the flight.

What do you think of the Gulfstream G280? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!

Featured image courtesy of ERIC SALARD via Flickr.