Gulfstream Aerospace announced its G200 MSG-3 scheduled maintenance program has received approvals from the FAA and the Civil Aviation Administration of Israel.

According to Gulfstream, the MSG-3 program significantly reduces the number of required scheduled maintenance tasks while retaining the highest level of safety standards as defined by the FARs. Operators whose G200s are maintained through the program significantly extend their maintenance intervals to 500 flight hours for an “A” check and every 12 months for a “C” check.

In comparison, G200s maintained under the previous program were required to go in for service every 300 flight hours. In addition to other advantages, the program reduces the number of certification maintenance requirements–those essential tasks required to maintain airworthiness– from 40 tasks to seven.

The company also announced it is going to spend $300 million building a new Savannah Service and Support Center, almost double the size of its current facility, to meet the demand for support, maintenance and refurbishment. The two-phase project will be located on a 76.6-acre tract in the southwest quadrant of the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport.

The first phase, 318,660 sq ft to be completed by next July, includes the north hangar building, connector building, repair shops, a fuel farm, an engine run-up area, an employee parking lot and a cafeteria. A second phase, which accounts for 311,220 sq ft, will be completed by the end of 2009 and includes the south hangar building, a second engine run-up area, additional repair shops and parking spaces.