The Gulfstream G650 and the flagship Gulfstream G650ER have been certified for steep approach by the FAA, allowing the ultra-long range aircraft to access even more airports worldwide.

“With the G650ER's proven performance, our customers consistently arrive first to their destinations and now have even more flexibility,” says Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “We are committed to providing options for travelling, unhindered, to the most remote destinations. Speed and range combined with steep approach certification ensure customers save countless hours per year.”

After successfully demonstrating steep approach operations in 2018, the G650ER can now access challenging airports such as London City, which requires the certification due to its short runway and stringent noise-abatement requirements.

The certification also opens access to Lugano and similar airports located in the mountainous region of Switzerland. Lugano's short runway, situated in the mouth of a valley, requires an extremely steep approach.

The G650 family comprises more than 355 in-service aircraft and has achieved more than 90 city-pair speed records. The aircraft recently completed the fastest, longest-range business jet flight in history, from Singapore to Tucson, Arizona, beating the previous world record by 44 minutes.

FlightSafety International is to offer a specialised London City airport steep approach operations training programme for Gulfstream G650 pilots. It includes an eLearning module, ground school and a simulator session at a Learning Center. Topics include an overview of London City airport and the regulatory requirements followed by modules on arrivals, approaches and landings, ground operations, departures, noise abatement and human factors/CRM elements as required.

“FlightSafety courseware developers and simulation engineers worked with their counterparts at Gulfstream to develop this new London City airport training programme,” explains senior vice president, operations Dann Runik. “This is another example of the excellent cooperation between FlightSafety and Gulfstream, and our mutual commitment to provide G650 operators with the training programmes they require.”

FlightSafety has been the official factory authorised training organisation for Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation for more than four decades. Training for the complete line of Gulfstream aircraft is delivered using close to 30 full flight simulators as well as other advanced training devices and equipment. Training is available at FlightSafety Learning Centers in Dallas, Texas; Hong Kong; Long Beach, California; Savannah, Georgia; Wilmington, Delaware; and at the London Farnborough airport in the UK.