Gulfstream's G280 recently set another speed record in Africa, flying from Windhoek, Namibia, in the southern part of the continent to Dakar, Senegal, on the west coast. The flight took seven hours and 38 minutes.
The super midsize business jet left Windhoek Eros airport at 08:20 local time and arrived at Léopold Sédar Senghor International airport at 13:58 local time, completing the 3,248 nm flight at an average of Mach 0.80.
“The G280 easily departed the high altitude airfield and short runway,” says senior VP of sales Scott Neal. “Our customer's very specific mission requirement allowed us to demon-strate the aircraft's maximum takeoff performance and smooth handling under challenging conditions.”
The G280 has earned 58 speed records since its November 2012 entry into service, including four within Africa, and at Mach 0.80 it can travel 3,600 nm. The aircraft has a well-appointed cabin with high-definition entertainment, low noise levels and 19 large windows.
The jet's three other speed records in Africa are Luanda, Angola, to Cape Town, South Africa; Johannesburg, South Africa, to Luanda; and Libreville, Gabon, to Casablanca, Morocco.