Aircraft Overview: Gulfstream G600

The Gulfstream G600 is a twin-engine business jet produced by Savannah, Georgia-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. A clean-sheet design that is the commercial designation of Gulfstream’s GVII-G600 type, the G600 is powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW800-series engines. The first flight of a G600—which was performed by a flight-test airframe registered as N600G—took place on Dec. 17, 2016, a flight that originated from Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport. Subsequently, the GVII-G600 was certified by the FAA on June 28, 2019, ahead of the first delivery on Aug. 8, 2019.

According to the FAA type certificate data sheet (TCDS) that includes the GVII-G600, the airframe is certified to carry up to 19 passengers, in addition to the two required pilots. However, Gulfstream states that when the cabin is configured for sleeping accommodations, that capacity is reduced to 10. Those passengers are accommodated in a cabin that has a length—setting aside the baggage area—of 45 ft. 2 in., finished height of 6 ft. 2 in., finished width of 7 ft. 7 in. and volume of 1,884 ft.3 At the maximum operating altitude, the G600’s pressurization system allows for a cabin altitude at 4,850 ft., while the space in the cabin is supplemented by a baggage compartment that has a volume of 175 ft.3.

Powering the G600 are two PW815GA engines that received Transport Canada approval on Feb. 15, 2015, and which, according to Gulfstream, have a rated takeoff thrust of 15,680 lb. each. That engine is promoted as improving fuel efficiency and performance, while also reducing emissions and noise. Beyond the improvements provided by the PW800 series—which incorporates “the same core technology” that is utilized “in the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine for commercial aircraft”—the presence of non-Rolls-Royce engines on a “purely U.S.-designed” Gulfstream airplane also represents a change for the airframe manufacturer.

Beyond the airplane’s 94,600-lb. MTOW, the G600’s basic operating weight is 50,900 lb. when carrying four crew and assuming “theoretical standard outfitting configurations.” Based on the same theoretical standard outfitting configurations that are assumed in the basic operating weight, the G600 has the ability to accommodate a maximum payload of 6,540 lb., a weight that is reduced to 2,600 lb. when the airplane is carrying full fuel. With regard to the maximum amount of fuel that the airframe can carry, Gulfstream notes that the maximum fuel weight is 41,500 lb. 

The GVII-G600’s operating limitations include a maximum operating Mach number (MMO) of 0.925 Mach and a maximum operating altitude of 51,000 ft.

In addition to the certified maximum operating altitude, the G600’s initial cruise altitude is 41,000 ft. At the airframe’s long-range cruise speed of 0.85 Mach—as well as when carrying eight passengers, four crew and National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) instrument flight rules (IFR) reserves—the theoretical maximum range is 6,600 nm.

Other G600 performance figures include a high-speed cruise speed of 0.90 Mach and a takeoff distance—assuming sea-level altitude, standard conditions and the airframe's maximum takeoff weight (MTOW)—of 5,700 ft.