Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group.&nbsp;He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion,&nbsp;the&nbsp;student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot&nbsp;magazine, he joined&nbsp;AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.

Online Editor

Chad Trautvetter

The super-midsize Gulfstream G280, a joint project between Gulfstream and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), obtained full FAA and Israeli type certification today. This was an on-time arrival for Gulfstream, which had promised such approval in the third quarter. The aircraft received provisional type certification from Israel’s CAAI on December 29 and from the FAA on March 1.


“Gulfstream is excited to bring this aircraft to its customers, especially since we’re able to provide an airplane that does more than we originally announced,” said Gulfstream president Larry Flynn. The G280 has a range of 3,600 nm at Mach 0.80, a 200-nm increase over original projections. “It’s the only midsize aircraft that can reliably fly nonstop between London and New York,” he added.


The approvals clear the way for customer deliveries of the new twinjet. Gulfstream says it will deliver the first G280 before year-end to a “U.S.-based manufacturer with a worldwide presence spanning 190 countries.”


According to Gulfstream, the principal remaining item required before the FAA and CAAI issued full type certificates was an update to the software for the twinjet’s Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics. This hurdle was cleared today, when Rockwell Collins announced that the avionics system achieved FAA certification on the Gulfstream PlaneView280 flight deck.


Meanwhile, full FAA certification of the wide-cabin Gulfstream G650 is expected by the end of this month. The G650 received provisional FAA certification in November.

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