Gulfstream IV: Gulfstream’s Most Popular Business Jet Yet!

When the Gulfstream IV entered service in 1987, it was the private jet to have. Larger and more luxurious than the Gulfstream III it replaced, the jet was also cheaper and easier to maintain than its competitors too…

Continually produced between 1985 and 2018, the jet was the longest-produced private jet in Gulfstream’s history. And this wasn’t a vanity project on Gulfstream’s part; the Gulfstream IV was incredibly popular and sold over 900 times.

This makes the GIV one of the most popular business jets of all time, only rivalled by the Hawker 400’s 953 units!

Pre-Gulfstream IV

On October 2 1966, the business jet division of Grumman (often simply called “Gulfstream”) first flew their G-II design. Gaining FAA approval on October 19 1967, it entered service as one of the world’s first modern business jets.

Designed to replace the company’s successful G-I turboprop business design, the jet-powered G-II quickly proved successful – selling 256 times in 13 years (1967-1980).

Hoping to build on this success, Gulfstream began developing a larger variant of the G-II, which they called the Gulfstream III.

Beyond being longer than its predecessor, the GIII was also designed to carry more people, from 12 on the G-II to 14 on the GIII, whilst also having a longer range and cruising speed and being cheaper to operate.

Not surprisingly, when it entered service in 1980, Gulfstream had well over 100 orders lined up for the GIII. To cope with demand, Gulfstream ceased production of the G-II to focus on the GIII.

And boy did that work out! Over the next six years, a total of 202 Gulfstream GIIIs were built, making it one of the most popular business jets of the 1980’s, being used by both military and civilian operators alike!

Wanting to stay ahead of the competition, Gulfstream began work on a larger GIII with a longer range.

Development

Designating this new jet as the Gulfstream IV (occasionally known as the Gulfstream GIV or Gulfstream G-IV as well), development began in March 1983 at the behest of then-CEO Allen Paulson.

Beginning with extending the aircraft’s fuselage, Gulfstream engineers gave the GIV an extra 5 ft 3 in (1.6 m). This allowed them to extend the GIV’s cabin as well as give it a larger internal fuel tank, which it would need for its extended range.

Whilst doing this, Gulfstream engineers realized that to save weight, they could completely redesign the wing, making it both lighter and more aerodynamic, both of which helped to increase the GIV’s range and cruising speed.

Now with a jet that was slightly heavier and needing to have a longer range, Gulfstream struck a deal with Rolls-Royce to develop a more powerful and economic engine from their famed Spey engine (previously used on the Gulfstream III).

Known as the Rolls-Royce Tay, the Gulfstream IV became the engine’s first operator. And the Tay did as advertised, lowering cost per mile and increasing the GIV’s range considerably!

Taking advantage of advances in avionics technology, Gulfstream engineers completely redesigned the cockpit, giving it brand new Honeywell SPZ-8000 avionics.

Although this may not sound like much, this made the Gulfstream GIV the world’s first business jet with an all-glass cockpit.

Having a working design by early 1985, Gulfstream spent the next six months building the prototype, which first flew on September 19 1985. Completing its flight testing, the Gulfstream IV received its type certification on April 22 1987.

Operational History

Deliveries of the first Gulfstream IVs began later that month, with the G-IV later going on to have a rather interesting service life…

Business Jet

When Gulfstream were designing the GIV, they designed it expressly to act as the successor of the Gulfstream III. In other words, they designed it to be a business jet used by the world’s largest corporations from day one.

Indeed, the GIV achieved that goal.

Most of the jet’s first operators were large corporations, often former operators of the Gulfstream G-II and/or Gulfstream III who were impressed with the aircraft they previously used and were looking for an update.

As a corporate jet, the G-IV primarily flies long-haul flights, transporting high-ranking company employees, such as the CEO, President, COO etc. whilst on official company business (such as attending a trade conference or performing a takeover out-of-state/overseas).

Thanks to its incredibly long range, the G-IV is most often used on long-haul corporate flights such as New York-London, New York-Paris and San Francisco-Tokyo.

However, it is also occasionally used to transport up to 19 executives (depending on the variant and layout) over slightly shorter distances too, such as New York-Boston, Tokyo-Seoul or London-Paris, which are all short-haul business routes the GIV is used on.

Among those corporations that currently use the Gulfstream GIV include Texas-based financial services company Apogee Finance, Irving, California-based health and beauty manufacturer Nutrawise and California-based chemical manufacturer PMC Global.

Sadly, due to the G-IV’s advancing age (the oldest in service are over 35 years old!) many corporate operators are beginning to sell off or retire their G-IV jets in favor of newer Gulfstream jets like the G550, G650 and G700.

Private Jet

Whilst principally a business/corporate jet, the opulence and large size of the Gulfstream G-IV has attracted several private buyers too, many of whom have acquired the jet so they can to travel in style.

Primarily acquired by celebrities, they’ve acquired the jet to often be an extension of their brand – often being featured in promotional material, to garner media attention and is often painted with their brand names and logos on them.

Besides celebrities, the Gulfstream has also been acquired by high net worth individuals who’ve seen the long range and extreme comfort of the GIV and their own need for an opulent jet, and have acquired the jet.

In both cases, the GIV is typically used for long-haul flights, mainly transcontinental, and transatlantic flights, whilst also being used for the occasional transpacific and short-haul flight too!

Sadly, recent years have seen public perceptions of private jets drop to an all-time low, mainly because of their adverse effects on the environment. To avoid negative media coverage, many of these private operators have concealed their ownership of the jet.

Typically, this is done by the ownership of the jet being held through a shell company or more commonly, a bank trust. This means that their ownership of the jet is anonymous, whilst still being able to use it like anyone else.

Whilst great for them, it means that we don’t really know who operates the jet…

Despite this, we do know that the Sultan of Johor, Sultan of Brunei and Tom Cruise all operate the Gulfstream as their private jet. Warren Buffett also previously operated a Gulfstream IV owned by his company, NetJets.

Charter

Having seen the Gulfstream IV’s success as both a corporate and private jet, several air charter companies have acquired the G-IV so they can charter it out for a profit.

Acquired by early private jet charter companies from the early 1990’s onwards, the G-IV soon became the flagship of many of these companies, being featured heavily in their promotional material due to their opulence.

Marketed by these air charter companies as “the aircraft you need if you’re looking for a step up from the Gulfstream III but something not as large as the Gulfstream V” as one air charter company put it.

On a similar note, other air charter companies market it as a cheaper and more modern alternative to the Gulfstream III whilst able to be used on flights that would otherwise require something like the G600.

Sadly, less and less people are chartering the G-IV each year, instead preferring newer (and more luxurious) Gulfstream jets like G550, G600 and G700. Listening to customer’s demands, many air charter companies are selling the G-IVs in favor of these newer jets.

Although it varies from charter company to charter company, route to route and the variant you fly on, you can expect to pay anywhere from $7,000 to $8,400 per hour to charter the Gulfstream IV.

In recent years, this has seen the G-IV become quite popular with many air charter brokers (eg. those companies who act as an intermediary between private flyers and operators) as the margins on the G-IV are much higher than on other jets.

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Price

Before it ceased production, the Gulfstream IV carried a price tag of around $26 million, making it Gulfstream’s most expensive jet on the market when it was released.

Since production of the jet ceased in 2018, the only way to acquire a GIV would be to acquire one on the secondary market. Thankfully, there are several currently on the market…

On the “cheaper” end (everything’s relative), a standard GIV from the 1980’s or early 1990’s will likely set you back around $2.6 to $2.7 million depending on age, number of hours on the fuselage etc.

For your average GIV/GIV-SP/G350/G450, however, you’d probably be looking at paying between $3.5 and $3.75 million.

Similarly, a GIV-SP from the late 1990’s to the mid-2000’s will set you back between $4.5 to $5 million depending on age, the total number of hours on the fuselage and the condition of the cabin.

On the more “expensive” end (again, everything’s relative), a newer G350 or G450 from the late 2000’s up until 2018, will set you back anywhere from $7 to $9.75 million depending on variant, age and total number of hours.

In terms of cost to operate, the Gulfstream GIV costs around $4,744 per hour to operate, whilst the GIV-SP costs around $4,600 per hour, whilst the G350 costs $4,379 per hour and the G450 costs $4,363 per hour, assuming you fly them all for 450 hours per year.

Variants

Thanks in part to the jet’s popularity, gulfstream produced several variants of the jet, each designed to help them corner a specific area of the market:

GIV

GIV-SP

G350

G450

C-20F/G/H/J

Specifications

Specifications	GIV	GIV-SP	G350	G450
Length	88 ft 4 in (26.92m)	88 ft 4 in (26.92m)
Wingspan	77 ft 10 in (23.72m)	77 ft 10 in (23.72m)	77 ft 10 in (23.72m)	77 ft 10 in (23.72m)
Height	24 ft 5 in (7.45m)	24 ft 5 in (7.45m)	24 ft 5 in (7.45m)	24 ft 5 in (7.45m)
Crew	2	2	2	2
Passengers	13	14	14	14
Cruise Speed	Mach 0.85 (903 km/h; 562 mph; 488 kn)	Mach 0.85 (903 km/h; 562 mph; 488 kn)	Mach 0.85 (903 km/h; 562 mph; 488 kn)	Mach 0.85 (903 km/h; 562 mph; 488 kn)
Range	7,815 km (4,856 mi; 4,220 nmi)	7,815 km (4,856 mi; 4,220 nmi)	7,038 km (4373 mi; 3,800 nmi)	8,056 km (5,006 mi; 4,350 nmi)
Service Ceiling	45,000 ft (13,716 m)	45,000 ft (13,716 m)	45,000 ft (13,716 m)	45,000 ft (13,716 m)
MTOW	73,200 lb (33,203 kg)	74,600 lb (33,838 kg)	70,900 lb (32,160 kg)	74,600 lb (33,838 kg)

How Safe is The Gulfstream IV?

Historically, Gulfstream has a pretty good record when it comes to safety. Yet, the further back you go, the more dangerous their aircraft get, as our knowledge of aircraft safety was less and air safety regulations were laxer.

Yet for those who plan to fly on the Gulfstream IV, you probably want to know how safe, or indeed, how dangerous, the jet is…

Thankfully, the Gulfstream G-IV is actually quite safe, having a safety record akin to that of the 747 family – a family renowned for being one of the safest in jet aviation history!

Of the 900 or so G-IVs produced by Gulfstream, a grand total of 36 have been involved in an accident of some form (eg. a crash). Of those 36 accidents, there have been a total of 30 fatalities.

Whilst this is still 30 fatalities too many, for a jet with easily over a million flight hours by operators on all six inhabited continents going back over 35 years, this is a safety unlike any jet we’ve ever covered (in a good way!)

Looking at the accident reports for those crashes that had fatalities (four in total), investigators concluded that three of them had been caused by crew/pilot error.

As for the remaining crash, investigators put that down to poor maintenance on the operator’s part. This also happened to be the type’s deadliest crash too.

In regards to those non-fatal crashes and other aviation-related incidents, these were similarly caused by pilot/crew error or poor maintenance, rather than anything directly wrong with the GIV itself.

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

Over the course of writing this article, I’ve had the good fortune of being able to fly on the Gulfstream IV several times, including on the GIV-SP, G350 and G450.

Despite being designed in the 1980’s, the Gulfstream IV is certainly one of my favorite private jets ever.

As with the other Gulfstream aircraft that replaced it, the GIV’s cabin is deceptively large. On the outside, it doesn’t look that large, but when you get in, it’s huge!

Unlike other Gulfstream jets I’ve flown in, I didn’t the cabin overly restrictive. Whilst it wasn’t the most open pan of any jet I’ve flown, it was still quite easy to walk up and down the cabin without having to shimmy past people.

From a pilot’s point of view, the cockpit is a gold mine. Beyond being simpler than the GIII that came before it, the G-IV’s cockpit is a mixture between a mostly automated modern cockpit and the analogue cockpit of early business jets.

It’s for this reason that I can understand why so many pilots loved to fly the Gulfstream IV!

The only issue I had with the Gulfstream IV family as a whole was the interior. As a jet that’s over 35 years old in some cases, I knew that some of the older GIVs and GIV-SPs would have interiors that were outdated to say the least.

Some of the older G-IVs I flew on had updated interiors, whilst others did not. Obviously, this is due to the financial situation of the individual owners, but still, it was rather odd seeing some of the older jets have better interiors than newer ones!

Don’t get me wrong, the old ones were still more than comfortable than flying commercially. However, it’s in a completely different league when compared to the newer ones. The TV screens are better, there’s WIFI and the cabin’s quieter too.

What do you think of the Gulfstream IV/G350/G450? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!