Airtest – Gulfstream 1000

Main upward differences include clearance to cruise at 35,000 ft, thanks to increased cabin pressure differential to 6. 7 lbs/sq. in. (which means smaller airline-type windows and greater structural strength internally, increasing equipped entry weight by more than 400 lb), and fitting a brace of the new Dash Ten version of Garrett’s TPE 331 turboprop motors, flat-rated to 820 shp of their maximum 980 shp.

Dowty-Rotol’s high-technology props have also been fitted, to increase performance output at high Flight Levels.

And of course, the Gulfstream Commander 1000 boasts the now-familiar winglets which, wedded to a new high aspect ratio wing, boost cruise speeds at cruise heights without a corresponding hike in fuel consumption.

The big 1000 has a range – Civil Flying Services claim more than 2000 nm with reserve, a figure checked out and confirmed by the Manual depending on payload – which should do wonders for sales in this country.

New technology bristles in the Commander 1000; the super-critical Dowty props; new technology wing; a wet wing with fuel stored outboard of the engine nacelles – not really new technology but a definite plus mark; and the cockpit now called a flight deck with good reason.

This office features new-style flight and engine instruments laid out logically to cope with instant scans from either front seat. Definitely a pro’s Paradise, the flight deck follows and enhances the typically unfussed yet thorough Commander lineage.

The usual Commander wrap-round windows are standard, complete with eyebrow vision panels.

A list of standard flight deck instrumentation would take up quite a lot of this item – suffice it to say that one can now go for up to ten modes of thumb switching on the control wheel!

AUSTRALIAN AVIATION didn’t find out until after the evaluation that even the rudder pedals can be lit . . . There are the usual reclining and vertical, fore and-aft adjustments available in the Mighty 1000.

What Gulfstream Americans have done in the Commander 1000 is give the type the best single-engine and twin-powered climb rate of any business jet prop bar none – 945 fpm and 2804 fpm respectively.

In this respect, the flat-rated Garrett AiResearch Dash Tens take a lot of credit, as do the twin three-bladed Dowty supercrits.

Civil Flying Services put a tentative price tag of $A1. 45 million on the 1000, to Australian specs.

And Civil appears to have made a definite effort to produce and sustain a servicing profile commensurate with an undoubtedly top-of-the-market product, by investing nearly $0. 5 million in enhancing product support in Australia.

This includes a CFS turbine centre at Bankstown. With the ultimate establishment of a service centre in Sydney, Commander operators should now be able to get service and support without waiting for spare parts to arrive from Oklahoma.

Gulfstream American apply sound logic in its marketing strategy, and many of the points claimed for their Commander 1000 bear close study and appreciation:

Designed specifically (in the North American market) for business use, the Mighty 1000 has an excellent cruise speed – depending on payload and Flight Level, up to 307 knots.

Taking a sortie between 350 and 500 nm as a typical mission, Gulfstream American came up with some interesting homework.

The Thousand can unstick in 1510 ft, enabling operators to use smaller-than-normal airfields both on departure and arrival.

The initial rate of climb is listed as 2804 fpm – a figure handsomely bettered during our evaluation by almost 100 per cent even though we were in a somewhat light condition during the sortie from Bankstown.

Gulfstream American list a typical mission profile as seven passengers and baggage, full fuel to max. gross and an average-equipped Commander 1000, and come up with some very satisfying figures:

Taking a sortie distance of 1580 nm cruise height of FL 310, they give a time to climb of 21 minutes, a cruise speed of 290 knots and a total time en route of 5. 7 hours, in ISA conditions.

Mission efficiency is listed by taking nautical miles/pounds of fuel burnt, and arriving at the 0. 605 mark. Truly an efficient mark by any standard, and it makes Gulfstream American’s glossy brochure statement of travelling up to 50 per cent further on a pound of fuel than even the most economical business fanjet somewhat superfluous.

Our team had firsthand knowledge of the Commander 1000’s figures during a brief sortie during which we notched 300 knots at FL 290 with each Garrett burning 140 lbs/hr. It was obvious that the big bird is made for high Flight Levels – when height was reduced to FL 200 fuel consumption went up by about 50 lb/side at 98 per cent revs and 49 per cent torque. There was also an IAS penalty at this latter height.

And what about the part of the aircraft where the owner usually operates – the cabin?

The Commander 1000’s cabin surpasses most comparable type’s confines – if there is indeed a type comparable to the Big Thousand – and equals some bigger types.

Cabin height has been stretched a full four inches to 4. 77 ft, the cabin length having been pulled out to a remarkable 17. 25 ft to include a fully-private loo and aft baggage compartment within the beefed-up pressure vessel itself.

An eight-place “conference” seating plan appears standard in the cabin. Gulfstream American’s rundown on the average cabin lists a whole host of better-than-first-class refinements, sited in an atmosphere of typical Commander quietude.

Seating; listed as Comflite seats, one has a choice of selecting these in leather or fabric with leather trim. Extra support in the lumbar area, reclining facilities to 45 degrees, and optional fully-reclining seating plus optional swivel seats. The eight-place standard arrangement also features direct lighting, cigarette lighters and glass-holders.

Options include a stereo system, an electrically-heated beverage dispenser and warming oven; a second foldaway table in the main cabin area; a cabin display system showing time, outside air temperature, height and airspeed; an electric-flushing loo; air-ground telephone, dictation terminal; and many other features.

The cabin itself is truly quiet, and one doesn’t seem to notice the cut-down window area of the five-a-side configuration. Triple-paned windows do a lot to help minimise decibels and vibration.

As far as pilots are concerned, the Gulfstream Commander 1000 is a really professional aircraft – which in turn means that it should be flown by professionals.

However, it has few vices – none of the Commanders really have, when operated by people whose skills enable them to stay ahead of the aircraft.

In engine-out conditions, the Thousand handles are quite normal, and the heavy foot force can be trimmed out without wrapping the rudder trim round the stop.

In stalls, a wing drop is usual.

Rudder trim has to be fed in quite definitely on take-off with all the torque coming through the props, and adjustment is necessary during climb out. The double-pressure rudder steering on the ground takes a little getting used to – first pressure gets the nosewheel going in the required direction; second pressure carries on with the job of steering the nosewheel – and also starts the main braking effort on the same side.

Gulfstream American’s Commander 1000 is ideally suited for Australia’s small-medium business community, and also forms an efficient tool for the bigger corporate uses.

Now that the servicing and support question is no longer a question in this country, AUSTRALIAN AVIATION sees an increasingly significant sales upsurge for this type.

The Commander line speaks for itself as far as Australian and Australasian operations are concerned. The Commander 1000, as a top-of-the-market type, can now be regarded as the datum from which most other types progress in terms of real efficiency and practical economy, block times and general excellence.