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Gulfstream Sets Speed Record with Sustainable Fuel

It traveled at an average speed of Mach 0.89.

Gulfstream Aerospace yesterday announced that the jetmaker's G700 has set a speed record using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The G700 traveled from Savannah, Georgia where the company is headquartered, to Tokyo at an average speed of Mach 0.89 - a shade over 682 mph. The flight only took 13 hours and was the G700's first visit to Japan. On average, the flight under normal conditions lasts about 14 hours and 40 minutes. 

According to Gulfstream President Mark Burns, the company remains committed to reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by 40% over a 15-year span.

SAF is an alternative jet fuel made from renewable and waste feedstocks. Production and use of sustainable fuel in the U.S. has increased in recent years, but still remains a drop in the aviation fuel bucket. While U.S. SAF production reached 15.8 million gallons in 2022, more than three times the amount made in 2021, it still accounted for less than 0.1 percent of the total jet fuel used by major U.S. airlines, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The FAA previously set the goal for U.S. airlines to use 1 billion gallons of SAF per year by 2018, which they missed by some 984 million gallons four years later. 

In December 2022, Gulfstream became the first OEM to fly on 100% SAF on a G650 flight using a Rolls-Royce BR725 engine. The company has now flown more than 2 million nautical miles on SAF blends.

Gulfstream, which is owned by General Dynamics, is displaying the G700 this week at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2023) in Geneva. All inbound and outbound fleet aircraft at the event are flying carbon neutral. 

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