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Hello, I know someone who is considering landing his Gulfstream G4 at Black Rock City, and is willing to be arrange for grading for the landing strip to be extended. The question remains whether the playa is a safe landing surface and more importantly, a safe takeoff surface. Gulfstream has been consulted with and they are still awaiting their reply. Any input would be appreciated -
Has anyone ever done this before?
Has anyone ever done this before?
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Re: Gulfstream G4
Wed, August 27, 2008 - 9:19 AMIt has only been done once before, in 2007. With a smaller jet. More advance coordination w Tiger Tiger might have been useful. There is a prop shuttle between Reno RNO and BRC. -
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Re: Gulfstream G4
Mon, September 1, 2008 - 12:35 PMIt's actually been done three times that I know of. I was the Unicom operator when the first Citation came in in 2006 (we didn't believe it at first). They left that same night in a bad bad dust storm. Smithsonian Air & Space did an article about our airport and actually tracked down the owner of the Citation who said that the plane suffered no ill effects.
In 2007, there were two jets, both Citations I believe, that seemed to do fine. One even took off from the road when the runway was unavailable.
IIRC, the BLM imposes a 12,500-lb limit on the weight of the aircraft that come in. Would a G4 exceed that? -
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Re: Gulfstream G4
Tue, September 2, 2008 - 11:21 AMG4 is wayyyyyy over that weight. -
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Re: Gulfstream G4
Tue, September 2, 2008 - 11:33 AMyeah Gulfstream came back and said no. Foreign object damage to a gas turbine engine = not sexy.
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Re: Gulfstream G4
Sun, February 15, 2009 - 9:38 AMI've done it in Herks on shorter, less improved strips... Best bet is to wait for word from Gulfstream's chief pilots. There may be additional considerations with respect to warranty and insurance, hurdles which should also be cleared before attempting this in such an expensive airplane.
I wouldn't think the question is if the feat is possible bt rather, whether or not it's advisable, or safe, given the operating requirements of the aircraft, the limitations of the runway, and federal aviation regulations. Even if Gulfstream gives their go-ahead, might a special permit be required from the BLM?
A key consideration is whether or not the runway will hold up. It's not just the gross weight of the aircraft. Rather, it's how the aircraft's landing gear and tires distributes it's weight across the runway surface. A key input, believe it or not, is the aircraft's tire pressure. There are several systems throughout the world, including the older ST/DT/TT etc. system, as well as the newer ACN/PCN system. So far as I know, the runawy at BRC has never been evaluated, other than by means of actual flight testing. If the runway bearing strength is insufficient it may result in a degraded runway surface, or worse, rutting and possible damage to the aircraft's undercarriage.
I would advise you to proceed cautiously, ensuring that all issues are acceptably addressed. Coordinating with the BRC staff would probably be prudent, too. -
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Re: Gulfstream G4
Tue, February 24, 2009 - 7:31 PMhi,roger here....we will once again be staking out the runway @ BM.......each year its a different surface...
we'll do the best we can....last year was not easy,soft...dusty ,.in spite of that we had many ops from turbofan aircraft,
king air's and such.Foreign objects are not an issue but the surface is. closer to the event we'll have a better idea.
in the past ,the surface has been near-concrete like,they land the space shuttle on stuff like it,BUT not always the case....so contact
the crew after our survey,we'll have a better idea what this year is like.
love to see that thing out there.
r
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