The 800mph Gulfstream G650 - fastest civil aircraft ever

The G650 fuel system stores 100 percent of the aircraft’s 44,200 pounds of fuel in the wings. The G650 retains the G550 heated fuel return system but adds a new Fuel Quantity Monitoring System (FQMS). This system uses a new distributed architecture with redundancy to maintain fuel-quantity indication in the event of any single sensor failure. Additionally, the electronically controlled refueling feature automatically adjusts to provide accurate refueling under varying fuel temperature conditions.

To ensure all systems remain at peak performance, the Gulfstream G650 uses Gulfstream’s PlaneConnect program, a maintenance link that automatically transmits aircraft maintenance information to the customer’s operations department with an optional copy to Gulfstream Technical Operations. This data can then be analyzed to identify systems’ condition status. It also allows for exceptionally fast maintenance turnaround times.

With overall system reliability improvements and with 600 hours between major inspections, the G650 is projected to have unmatched availability and dispatch reliability.

The G650 fuselage employs all-new structural design and manufacturing processes, including bonded skin panels, machined frames and precision assembly. These new methods not only improve aircraft quality, fit and finish, they also reduce assembly time and the need for an extensive parts supply. For example, the G650’s new window design is 16 percent larger but uses 78 percent fewer parts, thereby reducing assembly time 57 percent. This streamlined manufacturing cycle also consumes less energy.

The G650 will be produced in the recently completed 308,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at Gulfstream in Savannah.

In summary, Gulfstream’s all-new flagship jet, the G650, is a new, one-of-a-kind, high-tech, state-of-the-art airborne office that features an unmatched combination of characteristics: the largest and quietest cabin, the longest range and fastest speed and the most technologically advanced aircraft systems.

“It’s thrilling to see how far we’ve come since that day 50 years ago when the first Gulfstream I prototype took to the skies. We were the first then and we’re still the first now. And with the help of our customers, the support of our communities and the ingenuity of our employees, we’ll continue to make aviation history with cutting-edge advances that revolutionize the business-jet industry,” said Lombardo.

Gizmodo has a nice article and some great pics of the new G650 and the official site has lots more info. The G650 is not exactly the most economical or eco-friendly machine and there’s a great discussion on the machine in the reader comments of this New York Sun article.