Gulfstream Aerospace has made the 500th Gulfstream G650 and G650ER customer deliveries from its Appleton, Wisconsin completions facility.

“With an incredible 500 delivered, persistent demand and a host of industry accolades, the G650 and G650ER are undeniably iconic,” says president Mark Burns. “This milestone delivery is a strong testament to the tremendous work of our dedicated Gulfstream team. As with all aircraft programmes, we continue to invest in the G650 and G650ER to ensure continuous improvement throughout the growing fleet for our customers.”

The G650 family provides significant time savings on some of the longest high-speed routes in business aviation. Together they have amassed more than 120 city-pair world speed records, including both polar and westbound around the world records. In 2014, Gulfstream was the recipient of the prestigious Robert J Collier Trophy for the G650 programme, an award recognising the greatest achievements in American aeronautics or astronautics. Gulfstream was awarded the trophy for the performance, safety and efficiency innovations the G650 brought to the business aviation industry.

The aircraft are powered by twin Rolls-Royce BR725 engines; in fact R-R has just delivered the 1,000th engine to Gulfstream. The BR725 was developed exclusively for the G650 and G650ER and is assembled at the company's business aviation headquarters in Dahlewitz, Germany.

R-R director business aviation Dr Dirk Geisinger says: "Having delivered 1,000 BR725 engines to Gulfstream is another testament of our leading position in the business aviation market. Our partnership with Gulfstream, that started some 60 years ago, is a real success story and it will continue into the future with the Pearl 700, which powers the Gulfstream G700 and the Gulfstream G800.”

R-R chief engineer business aviation Dr Jörg Au adds: “The BR725 engine is a pinnacle of engineering excellence, having accumulated almost 1.5 million engine flying hours over the past decade, while setting new benchmarks for reliability and performance. Reaching the incredible milestone of the 1,000th engine delivery is a momentous occasion for both Rolls‑Royce and Gulfstream, and I couldn't be prouder of the great team behind this product. We are looking forward to delivering many more engines to Gulfstream and to servicing our BR725 customers for decades to come.”

Seating up to 19 passengers, the G650 and G650ER feature a bright, flexible and award-winning interior enhanced by the technological advancements of the signature Gulfstream cabin experience, including 100 per cent fresh air, low cabin altitudes, 16 large panoramic windows and high-speed internet connectivity options like Viasat's Ku/Ka dual-band service with speeds among the fastest in the industry.

The G650 can fly up to 7,000 nm/12,964 km at Mach 0.85 and 6,000 nm/11,112 km when flying faster at its high-speed cruise of Mach 0.90. The G650ER can fly up to 7,500 nm/13,890 km at Mach 0.85 and 6,400 nm/11,853 km at Mach 0.90. Both aircraft are capable of a maximum operating speed of Mach 0.925, feature a maximum cruise altitude of 51,000 ft/15,545m, and have earned FAA and EASA certification for steep approach landing operations.

The G650 was certified by the FAA in September 2012 and by EASA three months later. The G650ER was announced and certified in 2014.