aviation - the past, present and future of flight

and Fred Rowling, accompanied by an F8F

Bearcat chase plane, piloted by Bob Smyth.

It was joined on a programme of around

800 hours of test flying by the second and

third prototypes in November 1958 and

February the following year respectively.

By April, firm orders had been placed for

27 production examples. Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) certification was

granted on May 21, 1959 and the first

customer, the Sinclair Refinery Company

of Tulsa, Oklahoma, took delivery of aircraft

of N704HC on June 23 of that year. It was

then fitted out and entered company service

a few months later in September, based at

the Westchester County Airport at White

Plains, New York.

One of two examples operated by

the National Distillers and Chemical

Corporation, N358AA, was the first

Gulfstream to visit the UK. It flew into

Gatwick in June 1960, having travelled

from Teterboro, New Jersey, via Goose Bay

(Labrador) and Keflavík (Iceland) in a total

elapsed time of 36 hours.

The aviation press was invited to inspect

its cabin, which was furnished in an eight-

seat lounge layout, complete with a bed and

a then state-of-the-art radio/tape player. In

October 1960, Grumman announced that

Gulfstream distribution in Europe was to

be handled by the London arm of Atlantic

Aviation.

Buyers on this side of the Atlantic, could

expect delivery of the Gulfstream within 90

days of order, complete with weather radar,

radio fit and cabin furnishings to customer

specifications for around £360,000 to

£370,000. The first two European customers

were the Maritime Investment and Shipping

Company (owned by the Greek shipping

magnate Stavros Niarchos), and the Italian

motor manufacturer Fiat.

Atlantic Aviation estimated that each

Gulfstream manufactured contained British-

made components to the value of almost a

quarter of the purchase price of the aircraft.

AIRLINE SERVICE

In December 1962, the FAA certificated a

version of the Gulfstream, fitted with a rear

cargo door and a convertible interior for up

to either 24 passengers or 8,000lb (3,628kg)

of cargo (or any combination of the two).

This version was aimed at the local service

airline market and came with a ‘jump-seat’

for a cabin attendant.

Around 25 to 30 Gulfstreams were

eventually to fill this role. The first airline

operator was US carrier Air South, and

the type was also used by Royale Airlines,

carrying out flights for Continental Airlines

under the brand name Continental

Connection. Carriers which used the type

outside America included Cimber Air of

Denmark and Propair from Canada.

The Gulfstream also found favour with a

number of show business personalities of

the time. Elvis Presley purchased N300MC

as a present for his manager ‘Colonel’ Tom

Parker.

Movie mogul Walt Disney used N732G

(later re-registered as N234MM), complete

with Mickey Mouse logo on the tail, to

transport film stars such as Julie Andrews

around the country. More workaday journeys

were in connection with the development of

Walt Disney vacation complexes.

The type also served in a number of

specialised roles. Operators included the

80 Aviation News incorporating Jets April 2018

Gulfstream I N142TG, fitted with a large freight door for cargo services with Purolator Courier.

Bob O’Brien

A G-1C, briefly called the Commuter for marketing purposes, alongside an original Gulfstream

1 showing the fuselage stretch and the additional cabin windows. Key Collection

Chaparral Airlines’ G-1C N328CA wearing American Eagle livery for franchise services. Bob O’Brien

Gulfstream I, G-BRWN, served with Brown Air from December 1985 to September 1988 (the

airline was renamed Capital Airlines from July 1987). The aircraft was traded in to Short’s as

part payment for a Short 360 and then went on lease to Peregrine Aviation, which later became

Aberdeen Airways. Alastair T Gardiner

78-82_gulfstreamDC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 80 02/03/2018 17:23