Today, Gulfstream Aerospace is best known for producing some of the highest end business jets on the market. Yet, arguably one of their best jets, the Gulfstream G200, was designed specifically to be a middle-of-the-market jet…
Despite having not been designed by Gulfstream (instead by IAI) the G200 soon became one of Gulfstream’s bestselling jets of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, being produced a total of 250 times over a 24-year period (1997-2011)!
Pre-Gulfstream G200
In the early 1960’s, Aero Commander developed what they called the Jet Commander from their incredibly successful Commander 500 line of piston and turboprop-powered corporate aircraft.
Having its first flight in 1963, the Jet Commander entered service in January 1965, becoming one of the first modern business jets.
As one of the first business jets, the Jet Commander sold quite well, prompting Aero Commander to design and build more variants of the Jet Commander, which helped it to be even more successful!
Due to the success of the Jet Commander line (and other projects), Aero Commander caught the attention of aviation giant North American Rockwell who soon acquired Aero Commander.
However, due to the company already producing the Sabreliner, North American Rockwell were forced to sell the Jet Commander line to Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) in 1968 to comply with anti-trust regulations.
Continuing to produce new variants of the Jet Commander family, such as the Model 1123 and Model 1124, these IAI-made Jet Commanders were soon labelled as the IAI Westwind, with the Jet Commander’s success continuing to grow.
In the late 1970’s, IAI began work on a heavily improved Westwind which they called the Astra (later the Gulfstream G100). The jet first flew in March 1984, before entering service in January 1986, where it soon proved to be quite popular.
By the early-to-mid 1990’s, however, orders for the jet began to dry up, even as IAI continued to design and build better variants of the jet…
Development
Realizing the need for a new jet, IAI (through its US-based Galaxy Aerospace subsidiary that had produced the Astra) officially began development of a brand new jet in 1993, using the Astra as a starting point.
Originally known as the “IAI Astra Galaxy”, the jet’s name was eventually shortened to just the “IAI Galaxy” for marketing reasons.
To produce the jet, IAI/Galaxy Aerospace struck a deal with Russia’s Yakovlev OKB to produce the forward fuselage and empennage, before the contract was terminated in 1995 due to Yakovlev’s inability to meet production schedules.
Still needing a subcontractor to produce the Galaxy’s forward fuselage and empennage, IAI/Galaxy Aerospace struck a deal with EADS Sogerma (now Stelia Aerospace) to build the jet’s forward fuselage and empennage, doing so from 1995 until production of the jet ceased in 2011.
Designed to have a longer and wider fuselage, as well as the reinforced wing found on the IAI Astra SPX (the latest Astra variant at the time), the Galaxy was designed to carry between eight and ten passengers compared to the Astra’s six to nine.
To make the Galaxy more appealing from a cost point of view, the jet was given brand new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306 engines, which reduced the Galaxy’s cost per seat considerably, whilst also increasing range and cruising speed.
For added performance, Krueger flaps were installed on the leading edge of the Galaxy’s wing. For safety reasons, all-new rubber de-icing boots were installed on the leading edges of the Galaxy’s wing and horizontal stabilizer.
With the first IAI Galaxy prototype rolling off the assembly line in late 1997, the Galaxy performed its first flight on December 27 that year before undergoing further flight testing.
Operational History
Receiving its type certification from both US and Israeli authorities by December 1998, deliveries began the following year. The type’s first commercial customer, Hong Kong-based power tool giant, TTI Industries, received their IAI Galaxy in January 2000.
From here, it would go on to have a rather interesting service life!
After Gulfstream’s $330 million acquisition of Galaxy Aerospace in 2001, all IAI Galaxy jets were rebranded as the “Gulfstream G200” whilst the IAI Astra SP was rebranded as the “Gulfstream G100”.
Private Jet
Although the first operator of the G200 (then the IAI Galaxy) was a corporation, the jet appealed to a large number of celebrities and high net worth individuals, who began acquiring the jet for use as their own personal jet.
Owned by celebrities like sports stars, actors and musicians, the midsized G200 is perfect for flying the mixture of long and short-haul flights that they’re used to – be it for vacations, tours or to negotiate new sponsorship deals.
The midsize of the G200 also allows the celebrity to travel with their family (or their closest friends) as well as their entourage without having to worry about not having enough room for everyone.
Beyond celebrities, the G200 has also appealed to high net worth individuals, who operate the jet as their traveling habits are spontaneous.
One minute, they may be stuck in meetings all weekend, whilst the next, their schedule has cleared up and they’ve decided to go on vacation.
It’s too late to book a commercial flight, but owning the G200 allows them to book the flight only a few hours before they actually take it! Plus, they can fly directly from their nearest airport to where they want to go, something they can’t do flying commercial…
As most of the Gulfstream G200’s operators have acquired the jet to better guard their privacy, eg. avoid the paparazzi or overeager fans, most of the privately owned G200s are owned anonymously – usually through a shell corporation or banking trust.
Despite this, we do actually know of a few people who operate the G200 as their own personal jet. These include: Portuguese sportsman Ronaldo, British businessman David Richard Hood (founder of Pace plc) and Texas businessman Roger K Beasley.
Corporate Jet
Yet it hasn’t just been celebrities and other high net worth individuals who’ve acquired the Gulfstream G200 as their own personal jet. So have a number of multibillion dollar corporations and international businessmen too!
As a corporate jet, the G200 is used to transport high-ranking employees of the company that owns it, such as the owner or the company’s C-Suite executives (CEO, CFO, COO etc.) whilst on official duty.
Due in large part to the G200’s design, it is able to transport between eight and ten passengers (plus two crew) over a mixture of long and short-haul routes at a relatively affordable rate. At least by business jet standards anyway.
Although not in all cases, the G200 may also be paired with a smaller jet like the Phenom 300. Here, the G200 flies the medium and long-haul routes, whilst the Phenom 300 does the short-haul ones, which lowers direct costs for the jet’s operator(s).
Much like many of the G200’s private flyers, many of the jet’s corporate operators have hidden their ownership of the G200 to avoid overt displays of wealth or the ire of the general public (over climate concerns).
Despite this, we do know of several corporations who operate the Gulfstream G200, with the most famous being: Macy’s, the International Bank of Commerce, Coca-Cola Corporation, Banco Bradesco and Bank of America.
Charter
Seeing the G200’s success with both private and corporate operators, the jet has also proven to be quite popular with air charter companies, who’ve acquired the jet en masse.
As a super-midsized jet, the G200 is marketed by air charter companies as the jet you want if flying in style and comfort is absolutely essential.
Many of them often push it as an upgrade the IAI Astra/G100 family (including the G150), especially for flights that are at the farthest extent of the Astra/G100/G150’s range, whilst not justifying one of the larger Gulfstream jets (like the G550, G600 or G700).
Alternatively, the G200 is marketed as the jet you want if speed is of the essence. This is due to the G200 being the second fastest jet in its class (only behind its replacement – the Gulfstream G280).
Whilst by no means a complete list, some of the air charter companies that own the G200 include: Switzerland’s TAG Aviation, Canada’s NovaJet, California’s StarJet, South Africa’s Avcon Jet and Kazakhstan’s Prime Aviation JSC (who are retiring their G200 fleet at the minute).
Although it depends on a wide range of factors such as route, time of year and the charter company you fly with, it costs around $5,000-$6,000 per hour to charter the G200.
Fractional Ownership
Price
In 2011, Gulfstream ceased production of the G200. Prior to that, the jet carried a flyaway cost of $23 million, placing it firmly in the middle of the market and as one of the cheapest Gulfstream jets.
Since ceasing production of the jet, the only way for you to get your hands on the jet would be via the secondary market. Thankfully, there are several G200s currently on the market…
On the lower end, a G200 from the late 1990’s or early 2000’s with well over 7,500 hours on the fuselage and over 3,500 landings, costs around $2.5 to $2.75 million depending on age, number of hours on the fuselage and total number of landings.
On the higher end, a newer G200 from the mid-2000’s onwards can cost anywhere from $3.75 to $4.95 million depending on factors such as age, total number of hours on the fuselage and the number of landings. The lower they are, the higher the price.
In terms of cost to operate, the G200 is similarly quite cheap, costing around $4,400 per hour to operate (assuming you fly it for 450 hours per year) which is similarly quite low for a Gulfstream jet!
For fractional ownership, the price for a G200 depends greatly on the size of the share you’re purchasing. For a 1/8 share, you’d be looking at paying around $375,000 plus fees, whilst a 1/2 share would set you back between $1.3 and $1.5 million plus fees.
Features
Variants
Thanks in large part to the success of the original Gulfstream G200, Gulfstream have developed several variants of the jet, which have all been just as successful as the original!
G200
G280
By the mid-2000’s, the introduction of the Challenger 300 in January 2004 had caused orders for the Gulfstream G200 to slow. Hoping to reinvigorate the G200 family, Gulfstream began developing a new G200 variant that could compete with the Challenger 300.
Given an all-new glass cockpit, brand new engines and a completely redesigned wing (among other improvements) the G280 as it was christened, was designed to have a longer range, whilst also being cheaper to operate.
Among these other improvements, the G200’s fuselage was also stretched by four feet seven inches (1.33 meters) which accommodated an extra person, making it more competitive with the Challenger 300.
First flying on December 11 2009, the jet entered service in 2012. To date, there are over 200 in the sky.
Specifications
| Specifications | Gulfstream G200 |
|---|---|
| Length | 62 ft 3 in (18.97 m) |
| Wingspan | 58 ft 1 in (17.70 m) |
| Height | 21 ft 5 in (6.53 m) |
| Crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 8 – 10 (depending on configuration) |
| Cruise Speed | 850 km/h (528 mph; 459 kn) |
| Range | 6,300 km (3,910 mi; 3,400 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 45,000 ft (13,700 m) |
| MTOW | 35,450 lb (16,080 kg) |
How Safe is The Gulfstream G200?
In recent years, aviation safety has become arguably more important than ever. A series of high-profile crashes have made even the most casual flyers thinking twice about flying.
Yet, when it comes to the safest and most dangerous aircraft, we tend to focus almost exclusively on commercial airliners like the A320 and 747, with private jets like the Gulfstream G200 often being forgotten about.
However, for those looking to fly on the G200, you’re probably wondering about how safe, or indeed how dangerous, the jet truly is…
Thankfully, the G200 is incredibly safe. Of the 250 G200s ever built, only eight have been involved in an aviation-related incident to date, resulting a grand total of zero fatalities. At least in terms of fatalities, the G200 is one of the safest private jets out there!
Looking at these non-fatal accidents, most are down to either pilot error or unforeseeable circumstances such as weather, rather than anything to do with the jet itself.
One of the main reasons the G200 is so safe is that it has over 60 years of engineering inside it.
Tracing its heritage back to the Jet Commander series, and in part, the turboprop-powered Aero Commander series, aircraft manufacturers like Aero Commander, IAI and most recently, Gulfstream, have perfected the G200’s engineering.
You see, all the engineering issues from the Aero Commander, Jet Commander, Westwind and Astra/G100 lines have been fixed by the aircraft that followed them. All this means that the G200 is iron-clad engineering-wise and is incredibly safe!
A word of warning however: Just because the G200 hasn’t had any fatalities yet, doesn’t mean that it won’t have one in the future.
Indeed, whilst pilot error should (in theory) decrease as crews earn more hours in the jet, maintenance issues will begin to become more and more prevalent – as the older jet is, the more issues will occur, one of which may be accidentally missed and have disastrous consequences.
What’s it Like to Fly on The Gulfstream G200?
Over the course of writing this article, I’ve had the good fortune of
What do you think of the Gulfstream G200? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Victor via Flickr.