Gulfstream G280: specifications, range, cabin

The G280 is a super-midsize business jet with 6,667 km of range and a single production version across the whole programme. It is built in two countries, and 300 aircraft had been delivered by June 2025. Here are the book figures and how they behave in service: how far the aircraft actually carries you on a maximum leg, what sits behind the 17,960 kg takeoff weight, and what to check on a specific airframe.

Headline specifications

Manufacturer and type-catalogue data. The figures for a specific airframe come from its flight manual: configuration and modifications change the weights, and range with them.

Full data and photographs are on the model page; the price corridor and the cost structure are in the breakdown of G280 prices.

Where the G280 came from

The basis is the Gulfstream G200, the Israeli IAI 1126 Galaxy: an aircraft that first flew in 1997 and ran to 250 examples by December 2011. From its predecessor the G280 took the concept and the class. The wing was made new, with more sweep; the engines were changed to Honeywell HTF7250Gs; the tail became a T-tail; and the cabin was stretched by 43 cm.

First flight was on 11 December 2009. Full Israeli and FAA certification came on 4 September 2012, and deliveries began at the same time. Until July 2011 the programme was called the G250, then the model was renamed: the combination "250" was judged to sound wrong in a number of markets.

Assembly runs in two countries. Israel Aerospace Industries builds the airframe in Tel Aviv, after which the aircraft is ferried to the Gulfstream centre in Dallas, where the cabin and avionics go in, it is painted, and it is tested before handover. Factory support runs through the Gulfstream service network, and airframe parts logistics is tied to the Israeli manufacturer.

In thirteen years of production the type has had no variants: one production version since 2012. For a buyer on the pre-owned market that is a rare convenience — what you compare is configuration and condition, because the base aircraft is the same for everyone.

Range: what sits behind 3,600 miles

6,667 km is the best figure among its direct neighbours in the class. The Challenger 3500 gives 6,300 km, the Citation Longitude 6,482 km, the out-of-production Challenger 350 5,926 km, and the predecessor G200 the same 6,300 km. Only the Praetor 600 gives more, at 7,441 km.

The practical meaning is specific: the G280 does London — New York in one hop. For the super-midsize class that is the dividing line; its neighbours on budget go via an intermediate stop.

The book 3,600 nautical miles are calculated at Mach 0.80 and a stated payload. What reduces the figure in service:

Speed. The top of the range takes back part of the distance. The difference between M 0.80 and M 0.84 on a seven-hour leg is measured in tens of minutes and hundreds of kilometres of margin.

Payload. A cabin filled with ten people and their bags takes hundreds of kilometres off the calculated load case.

Wind. A headwind on east — west routes eats 5 to 15 per cent depending on the season and the flight level.

Departure airfield. A short runway, heat or elevation limits takeoff weight, and fuel with it.

The working rule: a leg longer than 85 per cent of book range is planned with a technical stop or with a reduced payload. For the G280 that means about 5,700 km with no caveats.

What the aircraft covers confidently: Moscow — Dubai, Moscow — London, European and Middle Eastern routes in full, and the Atlantic eastbound. The westbound run in winter is calculated on actual wind and payload.

Cabin

Two living zones with capacity for up to ten. Layouts run from eight seats in a double club to nine or ten with a divan, and a berth is an option. A galley, an aft lavatory, and access to the baggage compartment in flight — the last of these is not available on every type in the super-midsize class.

The cabin is 43 centimetres longer than the G200's. The manufacturer quotes cross-section dimensions for a specific layout, so two aircraft of different years with the same seat count can be arranged differently inside. Exact dimensions come from the airframe's documentation.

The practical difference between two zones and three shows up on six- and seven-hour legs. There the split of "front group for work, rear for rest" applies; the type has no third zone of the kind the large class offers.

HTF7250G engines

Two Honeywell HTF7250Gs at 7,624 lb of thrust. The HTF7000 family is on every principal super-midsize type: the Challenger 350 carries the HTF7350, the Citation Longitude the HTF7700L, the Praetor 600 the HTF7500E. The installed base across the family is large, the lives and the cost of work are known to the market, and licensed specialists can be found without difficulty.

The same fact drives the main financial feature of any type in this class. An engine is a consumable with a known life and a known restoration cost, and on a super-midsize aircraft a pair of engines is worth a noticeable share of the price of the whole machine. That is why the status of the engine hourly-cost programme is checked first and moves the price of a deal harder than any other item. How these programmes are built and what they are worth at resale is in the breakdown of private jet ownership costs.

Ceiling and takeoff weight

The service ceiling is 45,000 ft. The upper level means fewer weather deviations and less turbulence on a long leg: the aircraft runs above the main flow and waits for a level less often on busy routes.

Maximum takeoff weight is 17,960 kg. That is almost half the large class, where the Gulfstream G450 weighs 33,838 kg. The line works on every flight: airport charges, air navigation charges and parking are calculated from maximum takeoff weight. On a regular network with expensive European hubs the smaller aircraft wins exactly here.

The same weight opens up fields the large class cannot use because of runway limits and pavement strength. Specific type-and-airfield pairs are checked against the airfield's documents before the schedule is planned.

Russian routes

In the selection catalogue the G280 is not marked as common on Russian routes: that marking belongs to the Challenger 300 and Challenger 350, and among older aircraft to the Citation X and the G200.

Behind the marking sit the ground handlers' familiarity with the type, local operator experience, and predictable parts logistics. Its absence moves the checking to the start of the deal: the status of the type certificate, recognition of the airframe's documents and the availability of maintenance are established before the deposit. Registration procedure and the choice of jurisdiction are covered separately: registration and jurisdiction.

What to look at on a specific airframe

Airframe hours and cycles separately: an aircraft on short legs accumulates several times the cycles for the same hours flown. What remains on each engine before the next removal, and the status of the hourly-cost programme — active coverage passes to the new owner and counts as an asset in the deal. Calendar inspections completed and the next one due: a 2013 airframe has noticeably more of them behind it than a 2022 one.

Then the communication and surveillance fit for the airspace the aircraft will fly in, and the scope of the upgrade needed to meet current requirements. The year of the last cabin refurbishment and the layout. Continuity of the records, agreement between airframe, engine and component hours, airworthiness directives and service bulletins completed, and the provenance of replaced components.

A separate item is where the type is maintained in your region of basing and what the lead times are on airframe parts. A narrow fleet of 300 aircraft means an airframe part comes from one point on the map.

Every item turns into money: either a discount off the price or a line in the first year's ownership budget.

The figures here are catalogue and handbook data, to my knowledge. The specifics are calculated from the documents of the specific aircraft.

Alexander Filimonov — business aviation: selection, purchase and entry into service of aircraft.

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