Aboard the Rutan Model 76 Voyager, on December 14, 1986, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager took off from Edwards Air Force Base. On December 23, 1986 at 8:06 AM, after nine days, three minutes and 44 seconds from take-off, they landed in the same airfield, they set a flight endurance reord. The Voyager was […]
Project Star Gazer’s Balloon Reached an Altitude of 82,000 feet (25 kilometers)
On December 13, 1962, Navy astronomer William White and Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger stepped into a small steel capsule attached to a nearly 300-foot-tall mylar balloon. Over the course of the next 18.5 hours, the balloon climbed to a staggering 82,000 feet (25 kilometers) in altitude and drifted above the desert. Project Stargazer was […]
First Chimpanzee to Orbit Earth
Fun Fact Friday: In 1961, the first chimpanzee orbited Earth on NASA’s Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) mission. This needed to be done before an astronaut could be orbited in the Mercury capsule. The chimpanzee performed a series of learned tasks on its journey, which showed that humans would have a limited functional capability in space.
Gulfstream Delivered its 150th Gulfstream G200
On April 26, 2007, Gulfstream Aerospace delivered its 150th Gulfstream G200 business jet. The G200 is one of Gulfstream’s six business jets and the first of the new generation of super mid-size business-jet aircraft to enter service. It offers the longest range, the largest cabin and the best balanced overall performance among its competitors. […]
Delivery of the First New Embraer Phenom 300E
On March 29, 2018, Embraer delivered the first new Phenom 300E business jet, having received its type certificate in the first quarter from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC – Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil). The new aircraft, designated “E” for “Enhanced,” […]
FAA Revised Separation Standard to Protect Small Aircraft
On March 1, FAA implemented a to protect small aircraft from wake turbulence, rotating air currents trailed by large aircraft. The danger from these wake vortices had grown with the introduction of “jumbo” jetliners. The new standard required separation between a “heavy” aircraft (over 300,000 pounds) and an aircraft operating behind it to be five miles, instead […]
Gulfstream G650 Flight-Test of Electrically Powered Fly-by-Wire Backup Flight Control Actuation System
On January 12, 2011, Gulfstream Aerospace announced that Gulfstream’s test pilots and flight-test engineers had recently made business-aviation history by flying the Gulfstream G650 flight-test aircraft for the first time using only an electrically powered, fly-by-wire backup flight-control actuation system. Gulfstream’s Serial Number (S/N) 6001 flew for a total of 3 hours and 33 […]
Opening of Dulles International Airport
On November 17, 1962 ceremonies marked the o. The first airlines to fly into Dulles were Braniff, Delta, Eastern, Northwest, and TWA. Dulles went from serving over 54,800 travelers in its first year to over 23 million per year today. Another change was its original identifier. Due to passenger confusion between Dulles and the Dallas […]
On October 20, 2019, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. today announced the Gulfstream G650ER™, Gulfstream G600™, Gulfstream G500™, Gulfstream G550™ and Gulfstream G280™ made the company’s first carbon-neutral flights, traveling from Savannah to the Las Vegas area for the 2019 National Business Aviation Association Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE). The five flights were made using a combination […]
Gulfstream Operations Move to Savannah, Georgia
On September 29, 1967, Gulfstream separated its civil and military production operations and in 1967 moved the civilian unit to Savannah, Georgia. Gulfstream operations moved to Savannah, Georgia to improve efficiency. Officials cited labor supply, land availability, transportation facilities and favorable weather conditions for choosing Savannah as Gulfstream’s permanent home. In 2006, Gulfstream began to […]
