New Georgia Encyclopedia: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation

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Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation,

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation

based in Savannah, is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics and over the years has produced more than 1,500 aircraft for corporations, governments, and individuals around the world. More than one-quarter of Fortune 500 companies operate Gulfstream aircraft, and about one-quarter of all Gulfstream aircraft are sold outside North America, mostly to customers in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In 2003 Gulfstream reported revenues of $2.5 billion.

The company's story dates back to 1930, when Leroy "Roy" Grumman and Leon Swirbul began operations in a garage on Long Island, New York. For many years Grumman Aircraft Engineering Company's sole market was the military, and the company became a preeminent manufacturer of naval aircraft. The Gulfstream brand first appeared in 1957, when Grumman engineers completed the design for the turboprop-driven Gulfstream I, which had its maiden flight on August 14, 1958. The plane advertised a maximum speed of 350 miles per hour at 25,000 feet and a range of 2,200 miles. The cabin seated twelve comfortably and more if the need arose. The initial price was $845,000.

Roy

Leroy Grumman and Pilots

Grumman himself named the aircraft the Gulfstream, likely because many Grumman executives vacationed in Florida, where the Gulf Stream current flows northward along the coast. Roy Grumman was a pioneer aviation engineer whose first commercial aircraft was the G-21, called "the Goose." In 1946 Grumman introduced the G-73 Mallard, a brilliantly designed and luxurious amphibious aircraft that never reached its market potential. In spite of that setback, Grumman was committed to building airplanes for business travel, and during the years following World War II (1941-45), he led his company in the development of the first Gulfstream.

In 1967 Grumman moved the Gulfstream corporate jet operation to Savannah. The company experienced a series of mergers and buyouts during the 1970s, leading eventually to Gulfstream becoming its own entity in 1978. General Dynamics bought the company in 1999.

The Gulfstream line of aircraft has evolved and expanded dramatically over nearly fifty years of production

Gulfstream G550

and now includes the G100, G150, G200, G350, G450, G500, and G550. Costs for these aircraft range from $11 million to $46 million. Gulfstream's engineering heritage continues to drive the design and production of a new generation of business aircraft, including its latest model, the G550. This aircraft made its maiden flight on July 18, 2002, and thirteen months later received its Federal Aviation Administration type certificate and the Federal Aviation Administration production certificate. The G550 can accommodate up to eighteen passengers and is capable of cruising at an altitude of 51,000 feet at speeds of up to .885 Mach. In October 2003 the G550 set a time and distance record on a direct flight from Seoul, South Korea, to the Executive Airport in Orlando, Florida. The flight of 7,301 nautical miles took place in fourteen hours and thirty minutes, with an average air speed of 572 miles per hour.

Gulfstream's market reach is international, aided in large part by its parent company, General Dynamics, which employs more than 70,000 people worldwide and reported revenues

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation

of $19 billion in 2004. On the local level Gulfstream is Savannah's largest manufacturer and contributes in a variety of ways to community affairs, especially education. The company supports and partners with the Georgia Institute of Technology's branch campus in Savannah, Savannah Technical College, and the Savannah College of Art and Design. Many of Gulfstream's executives serve on local boards. The company contributes to the arts and to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler, located a few miles from the Gulfstream manufacturing plant.

Gulfstream's current president, Bryan T. Moss, graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1962. He worked for the Lockheed-Georgia Company (later Lockheed Martin) until he joined Canadair in 1979. In 1992 he was appointed president of the Business Aircraft Division of Bombardier Aerospace Group. In 1995 Moss accepted an offer to become vice chairman of Gulfstream and chief executive of Gulfstream's new subsidiary, Gulfstream Aircraft. Eight years later, in 2003, after some corporate restructuring and a reinvigorated marketing effort, Moss was named president of Gulfstream Aerospace. Later that same year, he was also named executive vice president of the Aerospace Group of General Dynamics.

In 2006 Gulfstream announced an expansion of its Savannah plant and projected the creation of 1,100 new jobs by 2013.