Gulfstream has checked off another milestone in developing he G500 with the successful completion of ultimate load testing. A required certification test by FAA and EASA, the ultimate load trials were carried out over five months, testing the fuselage, wing, vertical and horizontal stabilizers and control surfaces.

The testing, to 150 percent of the limit load (the maximum level an aircraft should experience during its service life), involved wing up and down bending, horizontal stabilizer up and down bending and wing torsion, among other conditions. The aircraft’s structural response was monitored through 6,000 instrumentation channels. Cameras were placed in the wing, empennage and fuselage.

“The successful completion of these tests confirms the airframe’s solid construction, fulfills certification requirements and clears the way for us to proceed with additional testing,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns.

With ultimate-load testing complete, Gulfstream will turn to a company test involving even higher loads to determine the destruction point. Also ahead will be a multi-year fatigue program for the G500 to simulate three lifetimes of operation.

Gulfstream is keeping the G500 on pace for certification next year, with four flight-test aircraft collectively accumulating more than 1,000 hours within the first 12 months of flight trials. A fifth test aircraft is being fitted with an interior to test the cabin components. The initial test aircraft, T1, has reached a maximum speed of Mach 0.9995 and altitude of 53,000 feet.

The G500 will have a range of 5,000 nm at Mach 0.85 or 3,800 nm at Mach 0.90. The aircraft will be fitted with Gulfstream’s Symmetry flight deck, incorporating active control sidesticks, integrated touchscreen panels, a next-generation enhanced vision system (EVS III) and Honeywell Primus Epic avionics.