Grumman Gulfstream I
Gulfstream I | |
---|---|
A USCG VC-4A Gulfstream I in flight, 1964 | |
Role | Business aircraft |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Grumman |
First flight | August 14, 1958[1] |
Produced | 1959–1969[2] |
Number built | 200 |
The Grumman Gulfstream I (company designation G-159) is a twin-turboprop business aircraft. It first flew on August 14, 1958.
Design and development
After first rejecting an idea to develop the
The Gulfstream I is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a semi-
The United States military version for this plane is the C-4 Academe. The TC-4 is a version with added instruments and navigation. It was used by the US Navy for bombardier/navigator training for the A-6 Intruder. A VC-4A variant was flown by the United States Coast Guard as an executive transport until the early 1980s. It was later used as a logistics and long-range command and control aircraft until 2001.[3]
A 37-passenger stretched version, the G-159C, was developed by
Operational history
As of August 2006, a total of 44 Grumman Gulfstream I aircraft remained in service. The major operator is
Variants
- G-159 Gulfstream I
- Twin-engined executive, corporate transport aircraft with accommodation for up to 14 passengers, powered by two 2,210-shp (1648-kW) Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.7/2 Mk 529-8X turboprop engines. 200 built.
- G-159C Gulfstream I-C
- Stretched regional airline version. Five G-I aircraft were converted into Gulfstream I-Cs, by having the fuselage lengthened by 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m) to provide seating for up to 37 passengers.
- VC-4A
- VIP transport version for the US Coast Guard. One built.
- TC-4B
- United States military designation for a cancelled order for ten aircraft for the United States Navy for the navigation training and transport duties.
- TC-4C Academe
United States military designation for a bombardier, navigator trainer for the US Navy and Marine Corps, first flown in 1967. Aircraft were fitted with a Grumman A-6 Intruder nose radome, a simulated A-6 cockpit and four bombardier/navigator consoles for A-6 crew training, nine built. The aircraft used by VA-42 was last seen in 2018 at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG). The "Green Pawn" emblem is still visible on the tail.
Operators
Most of the 200 Gulfstream I propjets were operated by corporate customers, with a smaller number operated by regional or commuter airlines as well as by government agencies and the military.
Civilian operators
- Ptarmigan Airways- Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Wardair
- Cimber Air- Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Malu Aviation
- Air Provence- Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Gabon Express - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Aeroel Airways - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- East African Safari Air - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Kenya Flamingo Airways - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Seven Air - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Swedish Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) - Flight inspection (Radio Navigational Aids).
- Aberdeen Airways - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Birmingham European Airways - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Birmingham Executive Airways- Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- British Airways - Former scheduled passenger airline feeder service operated via contract by Peregrine Air Services.
- Capital Airlines - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Air North - Former scheduled passenger airline operator of the stretched, 37-passenger Gulfstream I-C. Air North, which operated in the northeast U.S., subsequently changed its name to Brockway Air.
- Air US - Former scheduled passenger airline operator flying several commuter routes from Denver Stapleton International Airport (DEN). Fleet included stretched, 37-passenger Gulfstream I-C aircraft.
- Bonanza Air Lines - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Chaparral Airlines - Former scheduled passenger airline operator of the stretched, 37-passenger Gulfstream I-C. Chaparral operated as Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport(DFW).
- Coleman Air Transport - Former scheduled passenger airline operator which operated a small hub at the Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) in Illinois.[9]
- NASA - Former operator with seven G-I aircraft being used to transport NASA and space program contractor personnel between the civilian space agency's various centers and facilities in the U.S.
- Phoenix Air
- Houston Intercontinental Airport(IAH).
- Scenic Air - Former scheduled passenger airline operator with service from Oakland International Airport (OAK).
- Southeast Airlines - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
- Susquehanna Airlines - Former scheduled passenger airline operator.
Military operators
- Hellenic Air Force - One aircraft delivered in July 1964, now preserved at Dekelia Air Base. [10]
- United States Army - The United States Army Corps of Engineers operated a single Gulfstream I (with a civilian colour scheme and registration) between 1961 and 1981. The US Army also later received at least one Gulfstream I that had been confiscated from drug dealers.[11]
- United States Coast Guard
- United States Marine Corps
- United States Navy
Specifications
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965-66 [1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: 10–24 passengers / 4,270 lb (1,937 kg) maximum payload
- Length: 63 ft 9 in (19.43 m)
- Wingspan: 78 ft 6 in (23.93 m)
- Height: 22 ft 9 in (6.93 m)
- Wing area: 610.3 sq ft (56.70 m2)
- Aspect ratio: 10
- Airfoil: root: NACA 63A-214; tip: NACA 63A-314
- Empty weight: 21,900 lb (9,934 kg) equipped
- Maximum zero-fuel weight: 26,170 lb (11,871 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 35,100 lb (15,921 kg)
- Maximum landing weight: 33,600 lb (15,241 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 1,550 US gal (1,290.6 imp gal; 5,867.4 L) in integral wing tanks
- Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Dart Mk.529 or Mk.529-8E turboprop, 2,190 shp (1,630 kW) each equivalent
- Propellers: 4-bladed Rotolconstant-speed fully-feathering propellers
Performance
- Cruise speed: 348 mph (560 km/h, 302 kn) maximum cruise, at 25,000 ft (7,600 m) at MTOW
- 288 mph (250 kn; 463 km/h) economical cruise, at 25,000 ft (7,600 m) at MTOW
- Approach speed; 128 mph (111 kn; 206 km/h)
- Range: 2,540 mi (4,090 km, 2,210 nmi) with max. fuel, 2,740 lb (1,243 kg) payload, 45 minutes hold and 200 mi (174 nmi; 322 km) diversion
- Service ceiling: 33,600 ft (10,200 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,900 ft/min (9.7 m/s)
- Wing loading: 57.2 lb/sq ft (279 kg/m2)
- Take-off run: 2,550 ft (777 m)
- Take-off distance to 50 ft (15 m): 2,875 ft (876 m)
- Landing run: 1,525 ft (465 m)
- Landing distance from 50 ft (15 m): 2,125 ft (648 m)
- FAA take-off field length: 4,350 ft (1,326 m)
- FAA landing field length: 4,000 ft (1,219 m)
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
- List of military aircraft of the United States
References
- Notes
- ^ a b Taylor 1965, p.238.
- ^ "Grumman G-159 Gulfstream I | Airliners.net". Archived from the original on 2010-04-29. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
- ^ "U. S. Coast Guard Aircraft Types list". USCG web site. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
- ^ Frawley, p.132
- ^ Flight International, 3–9 October 2006
- ^ "Walt Disney's Airplane Returns to Palm Springs After D23 Expo". 9 September 2022.
- ^ Air Progress: 73. March 1993.
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(help) - ^ Amy Thompson (October 2014). "AeroMartí Signs Off The airplane that doubled as a TV station". Air & Space Magazine.
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Rockford flight schedules
- ^ "Hellenic Air Force Museum exhibits". Hellenic Air Force.
- ^ Harding 1990, pp. 131–133.
- Bibliography
- Frawley, Gerard (2003). The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003-2004. Fyshwick, ACT, Australia: Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd. p. 132. ISBN 1-875671-58-7.
- Harding, Stephen (1990). U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-102-8.
- Taylor, John W. R. (1965). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965-66. London: Samson Low, Marston.
External links
- The Grumman G-159 Gulfstream I on Airliners.net
- "Dart-Powered Executive" a 1959 Flight article on the Gulfstream
- "Online Gulfstream 1 Museum" Information on every G159 manufacturered