10 Things You didnt Know about the Gulfstream G150
The Gulfstream G150 is a twin-engine business jet that was produced by Gulfstream Aerospace but has since been discontinued in 2016 because of falling sales. Like its name suggests, it is an upgraded version of the Gulfstream G100, which in turn, has its roots in a line of products from the IAI. On the whole, the Gulfstream G150 has better avionics, a higher limit when it comes to its takeoff weight, and other improvements over its predecessor. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about the Gulfstream G150:
1. Can Be Traced Back to the IAI
Origin-wise, it is possible to track the Gulfstream G150 back to IAI, which stands for Israel Aerospace Industries. For those who are unfamiliar with that name, IAI is a government-owned corporation that products aircraft for both military and civilian use in addition to other aviation-related products and more besides.
2. Based on the Astra
This is because the Gulfstream G150 can be traced back to the IAI 1125 Astra, which in turn, was based on a business jet called the IAI Westwind. With that said, there is a fair amount of distance between the Gulfstream G150 and the IAI 1125 Astra, as shown by the existence of the IAI 1125 Astra SP as well as the IAI 1125 Astra SPX.
3. Successor to the IAI 1125 Astra SPX
The Gulfstream G150 is the successor to the IAI 1125 Astra SPX. For some people, said plane might be better-known to them as the Gulfstream G100. The two are the same plane but use different marketing names because Gulfstream Aerospace took over the programme in 2001.
4. By Far the Most Popular
It would be an exaggeration to say that the Gulfstream G150 is more popular than the rest of its line put together, but it wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration. For comparison, there were close to 120 Gulfstream G150s by 2016. In contrast, there were 32 IAI 1125 Astras, 36 IAI 1125 Astra SPs, and a combined total of 77 IAI 1125 Astra SPXes and Gulfstream G100s.
5. Last Sale in September of 2016
With that said, the Gulfstream G150 is no longer being produced at this point in time. This is because the last sale happened in September of 2016, with the resulting plane being delivered to its buyer in 2017. As for the reason, well, suffice to say that sales were starting to slow down, meaning that Gulfstream Aerospace made a choice to look elsewhere.
6. Related to the Gulfstream G200
Besides the planes that have been mentioned so far, it is interesting to note that the Gulfstream G150 is related to the Gulfstream G200 as well. What happened is that the Gulfstream G200 started out as a further development of the Astra, which was supposed to have a new fuselage as well as modified wings. However, those changes spiraled, thus resulting in the plane that is called either the IAI Galaxy or the Gulfstream G200.
7. Wasn’t Announced Long After the Acquisition
Gulfstream Aerospace announced the launch of the Gulfstream G150 within a short time following its acquisition of Galaxy Aerospace, which was the holder of the relevant type certificate at the time. For comparison, the announcement happened in September of 2002, whereas the acquisition happened in May of 2001.
8. IAI Continued to Manufacture the Gulfstream G150
It is interesting to note that IAI continued to manufacture the Gulfstream G150 following its acquisition by Gulfstream Aerospace. To be exact, IAI was responsible for making the airframes, which would then be moved to the United States, where their interiors would be outfitted to create the final product.
9. Can Seat Eight Passengers
In total, the Gulfstream G150 is capable of seating eight passengers. However, most examples seat four passengers with two crew members. This is because different configurations allowed for different possibilities, thus making the plane more suitable to a bigger group of potential customers.
10. Used By a Number of Airforces
The Gulfstream G150 has seen use by a number of airforces such as the U.S. Air Force and the Israeli Air Force. Primarily, it is used for transportation purposes, as shown by how the Israeli Air Force used it for moving VIPs from place to place. However, it has seen other uses in other roles as well.
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