While deliveries dipped slightly in the first quarter, Gulfstream Aerospace executives maintain they are still seeing solid interest in its flagship G650 and newest mid-cabin G280. “Some deals are taking a little longer to get done,” said Mark Burns, who is set to succeed Larry Flynn as president of the aircraft manufacturer on July 1, “but it was still a very good quarter.”

Scott Neal, senior v-p of sales and marketing, added that the G650/650ER is now benefiting from shorter wait times. Once stretching back seven years, the backlog for the model has shrunk to about three years. Last year’s addition of the “ER” option, which extends the range to 7,500 nm, also has sparked interest in the model, Neal said.

The G280, meanwhile, has provided a bounce in Gulfstream’s mid-cabin lineup, which previously struggled to recover from the prolonged downturn in that market segment. With the G280, Gulfstream mid-cabin deliveries were up by about 10 units last year.

Gulfstream, which returned to the Paris Air Show two years ago, has brought both the G280 and the 650ER this year, with an eye on business and special mission markets.

While the 650 marked one of its most successful commercial product launches, Gulfstream sees a potential special missions demand for the long-range capabilities of the 650ER. Burns noted that during the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, a customer (believed to be movie director Peter Jackson) loaned his G650 to the effort. Burns added that the 650 was able to remain aloft longer than other search aircraft involved in the mission.

Gulfstream (Chalet 500, Static C1) is no stranger to the special missions market.  It has successfully placed its GV/550 long-range aircraft in multiple roles, including personal transport, open patrol search, ISR, airborne early warning and high-atmospheric research for the U.S., German, Israel and Singapore services.

In addition, Gulfstream for years has collaborated with U.S. government agencies, including NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, on supersonic research. Burns acknowledged that Gulfstream has a “consistent investment” in that research, but believes a commercially viable product is still some way off.

Gulfstream’s parent General Dynamics, meanwhile, has made the decision to invest heavily in research and development for new products, Neal said, leading to significant expansion of the company’s test capabilities and development of the new G500 and 600 aircraft that will continue to broaden the company’s product line. The 500 and 600 fit below the 650 with rival speed capabilities of Mach 0.925 and new technologies. The 500, which will have a 5,000-nm range at Mach 0.85, first flew last month and is targeted for certification in 2017. The 600, meanwhile, with a 6,200-nm range at Mach 0.85, is expected to follow between 12 and 18 months later.

Gulfstream has already logged more than 34,000 hours of lab tests and already has a full-flight simulator in place; it is a first for the manufacturer to bring a simulator online so early in the program, Burns said. The company plans to incorporate the simulator into the test program, in the hope that it will keep down the necessary certification flight trials, added Burns.

While the Savannah, Georgia-based manufacturer remains busy with its largest product line in history and a number of research programs ongoing, it is in transition with the retirement of Larry Flynn in the next few weeks. Like Flynn, Burns has served as president of product support before stepping into the role of president of the company. He agrees that his appointment underscores the emphasis that the company places on product support. “We have long believed that service sells airplanes,” said Burns, a 32-year company veteran. “It is a huge focus. Of our 16,000 workers, almost 5,000 are involved in product support. It is part of our core business.”