Gulfstream G550

Gulfstream’s G550 is a twin-engine business jet that is one of the commercial designations for the Savannah, Georgia-based manufacturer’s GV-SP type. 

The airframe that eventually became the G550 made its first flight on July 18, 2002, with the original commercial designation being GV-SP (GV-Special Performance). 

The change in commercial designation from GV-SP to G550 was revealed in September 2002, ahead of the GV-SP type receiving FAA approval on Aug. 14, 2003, and entering service that same year. 

From a design perspective, the FAA type certificate data sheet (TCDS) notes that the GV-SP is “the same as” the company’s GV type, except for distinctions in the avionics, aerodynamics, cabin, and engines, as well as “operational changes for increased” economics, performance and range. 

Although the final commercial G550 produced by Gulfstream was delivered in June 2021, deliveries of special-mission airframes to military customers have continued beyond that date. 

According to the FAA TCDS, the G550 can carry as many as 19 passengers, with those passengers accommodated in a cabin that has a length of 43 ft. 11 in.—"excluding baggage”—finished cabin height of 6 ft., finished cabin width of 7 ft. and volume of 1,669 ft.³ 

Despite that maximum passenger capacity, Gulfstream promoted the cabin as capable of providing sleeping accommodations for up to eight passengers, with the cabin space also able to be divided into as many as four living areas. 

Configuration options included layouts with forward and aft galleys that incorporate a crew compartment, as well as another that has a forward galley but no crew compartment. The G550 also has 170 ft.³ of baggage compartment volume, while at 51,000 ft. the “feels like” cabin altitude is 6,000 ft.

In comparison to the Gulfstream’s GV type, the cabin changes made to the GV-SP type include the addition of a seventh pair of windows, the forward relocation of the main entry door, and “cabin improvements” that allowed for baggage space, comfort, and external visibility to be increased.

Pilots operate the G550 using Gulfstream’s PlaneView flight deck that is based on Honeywell’s Primus Epic integrated avionics system, and which features four 14-in. liquid crystal displays (LCD) that were promoted as reducing the workload of the two required pilots. 

Representing the “launch platform” for the PlaneView, authorized G550 pilots have the ability to “rely solely” on the standard enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) during landing, a capability that was marketed as improving the airplane’s “access to airports.”