On The Record With
BILL BOISTURE, PRESIDENT AND COO, GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE CORPORATION

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation has chosen EBACE 2002 for the European debut of its expanded fleet. Arrayed on the ramp here at Geneva is the entire range, comprising Gulfstream 100, Gulfstream 200, Gulfstream IV-SP and top-of-the-range Gulfstream V.

Evidently the airframer considers Europe to be an important market, and as Gulfstream president and CEO Bill Boisture explained to Show News, it has a substantial infrastructure on this side of the Atlantic.

"When we look at Europe, the former Eastern Bloc countries and the former Soviet Union together, we have a significant presence there in the form of sales personnel and technical representatives that assist both customers that own and operate airplanes from Europe as well as those that are transiting Europe, and we know that it is a very significant and frequent operating area for the owners of our products from around the world," he said. "So we are fully prepared to support our products in Europe."

There are currently 34 GIVs and 12 GVs operating in Europe.

How does Boisture view future sales prospects here? "As far as our future potential in Europe goes, we see the market healthy but not rapidly growing. In the former Eastern Bloc, I think that as economies are rationalized and entrepreneurs emerge we'll see sales in the private sector there, and we'll also see some activity in government special missions areas, so we're optimistic about that."

Gulfstream was frustrated in its protracted but eventually successful efforts to obtain European Joint Aviation Authorities validation for the Gulfstream IV. How is it going with the GV?

"We've completed all of the tasks necessary for JAA validation of FAA certification of the GV," Boisture told Show News. "We have an agreed upon a validation plan that we've been following for the last 12 months and we're in the final stages of implementing that plan. Obviously, the JAA is the decision-making authority in the sense of the time schedules for completing their work, but we have completed all the testing necessary and we would expect that they would finish their work in the next few months." JAA validation of the new GV-SP is expected to be concurrent with that of the GV.

The first JAA-approved GIV-SP will be delivered to German charter operator Windrow Air within the next week. The airplane will fly into EBACE on Wednesday. It will be the first GIV-SP registered in Germany, and the first to be operated in Europe under FAA FAR Pt 135 rules.
Just after last year's EBACE show Gulfstream acquired the former Galaxy Aerospace Astra SPX and Galaxy, now respectively the Gulfstream 100 and 200.

"The super-midsize G200 is a very capable airplane for intra-Europe operations," says Boisture. "It has good cabin size, is very environmentally friendly, and I like the prospects for that airplane in Europe. It is the only super-midsize aircraft in operation today, and flies nonstop from Geneva to Gander, Newfoundland, or from Berlin to Delhi.

"The G100, because of its high performance, is capable of operating out of many small airports that would not be suitable for larger airplanes. Both the G100 and G200 have the performance and technology aboard to integrate easily into Europe's crowed air traffic control system and be very usable in that environment."

Having recently expanded downwards from its traditional high-end market, is there any prospect that Gulfstream might think about adding an entry level bizjet to its range?

"I don't see us developing an airplane like that from scratch," said Boisture. "I would see that the only way we would get into the lighter jet segment would be through an acquisition. And frankly, we like the midsize, super-midsize and large cabin, ultra-long-range market and are satisfied for the moment with the breadth of product coverage we have for our customers."

Of prospects for a Gulfstream supersonic business jet (SBJ) Boisture notes, "We're continuing with some DARPA-funded studies - what I call 'technology building blocks - that are necessary if we as an industry are ever going to build that airplane. There's work going on with boom suppression, engine technologies and materiel technology. But we are not at this point headed towards a technology demonstrator or flight test vehicle. It's still much more premature than that."