The Gulfstream III, a

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...

produced by

Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a subsidiary of General Dynamics. Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 aircraft sinc ...

, is an improved development of the

Grumman Gulfstream II The Gulfstream II (G-II) is an American twin engine business jet designed and first built by Grumman, then Grumman American and finally Gulfstream American. It was succeeded by the Gulfstream III. The first Gulfstream II flew on October 2, 1966 ...

. The U.S. military uses versions of the Gulfstream III as the C-20A/B/C/D/E aircraft, though later C-20 F/G/H/J are

Gulfstream IV The Gulfstream IV (or G-IV or GIV) and derivatives are a family of twinjet aircraft, mainly for private or Business jet, business use. They were designed and built by Gulfstream Aerospace, a General Dynamics company based in Savannah, Georgia, ...

Design and development

The Gulfstream III was built at Savannah, Georgia, in the United States and was designed as an improved variant of the

. Design studies were performed by Grumman Aerospace Corporation in collaboration with Gulfstream American Corporation. Design of the Gulfstream III started with an effort to synthesize a completely new wing employing NASA supercritical airfoil sections and winglets. Optimization studies considering weight, drag, fuel volume, cost, and performance indicated that a substantial portion of the new wing benefit could be secured with modifications to the existing wing. As a result, the new wing concept was canceled and work began on design modifications that would retain the Gulfstream II wing box structure and trailing edge surfaces. Compared to the G-1159 Gulfstream II, the wing has more span and winglets added, the leading edge is longer and its contour is modified. The fuselage is longer aft of the main door, the radome is extended and there is a new curved windshield. Maximum takeoff weight is increased to or and there are various changes to the autopilot, flight instruments, and engine instruments. The aircraft received its

type certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...

from the American

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

on 22 September 1980. A total of 202 Gulfstream IIIs were built, with the last example built in 1986. In 2013, the FAA modified 14 CFR part 91 rules to prohibit the operation of jets weighing 75,000 pounds or less that are not stage 3 noise compliant after December 31, 2015. The Gulfstream III is listed explicitly in Federal Registe
78 FR 39576
Any Gulfstream IIIs that have not been modified by installing Stage 3 noise compliant engines or have not had "hushkits" installed for non-compliant engines will not be permitted to fly in the contiguous 48 states after December 31, 2015. ''14 CFR §91.883 Special flight authorizations for jet airplanes weighing 75,000 pounds or less'' – lists special flight authorizations that may be granted for operation after December 31, 2015. By 2018, prices for a used 1982 Gulfstream III started at $695,000.

Variants

Civil variants

* Model G-1159A Gulfstream III - Two or three-crew executive, corporate transport aircraft, powered by two

Rolls-Royce Spey The Rolls-Royce Spey (company designations RB.163 and RB.168 and RB.183) is a low-bypass turbofan engine originally designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce that has been in widespread service for over 40 years. A co-development version of the ...

turbofan A turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a combination of references to the preceding generation engine technology of the turbojet and the add ...

engines.

Military variants

* C-20A -

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

variant configured for 14 passengers and five crew; phased out of USAF service in 2002, one example transferred to

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

for use at the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

as a test aircraft.''Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles'', DoD 4120.15L, 2004-05-12 * C-20B -

and

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

variant with upgraded electronics, used for Special Air Missions (SAM); the single Coast Guard C-20B was used by the

Commandant of the Coast Guard Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

and other senior USCG officials as well as the

Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...

. * C-20C -

C-20B with upgraded and "hardened" secure communications, often utilized as backup aircraft accompanying the VC-25A aircraft when it is operating as

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...

* C-20D -

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Operational Support Airlift (OSA) aircraft with modified communications equipment for use by the Navy, normally in support of high-ranking naval officials * C-20E - Stretched fuselage/redesigned wing variant for use by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as an Operational Support Airlift (OSA) aircraft * Gulfstream III SRA-1 - Special reconnaissance and surveillance version for export. * Gulfstream III SMA-3 - Export model for Denmark, fitted with a

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...

APS-127 search radar. Three maritime reconnaissance and patrol, fisheries protection, search and rescue, and VIP transport aircraft were built for the

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force () (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of the Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Armed Forces. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was made a separate service in 1950. I ...

in 1983. No longer in service. NOTE:

C-20F and C-20J,

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

C-20G, and

C-20H aircraft are all

variants

Special mission variants

A NASA Gulfstream C-20A (83-0502 cn 389) has been fitted with a centerline pylon to allow it to carry the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) pod. A NASA Gulfstream III (N992NA cn 309) has also been fitted with a centerline pylon to allow it to carry the Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) pod, a modification of the UAVSAR pod. The Phoenix Air Group operates two former

SMA-3 aircraft (N173PA cn 313, N163PA cn 249) and a Gulfstream III (N186PA cn 317). One aircraft provides airborne maritime range surveillance for the

Missile Defense Agency The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is a component of the Federal government of the United States, United States government's United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense responsible for developing a comprehensive Missile defense, defe ...

(MDA) and other Department of Defense range facilities using a high definition

APS-127 Surface Search Radar system. All three are configured with a large cargo door. In 2008 Phoenix Air developed an Airborne Biomedical Containment System with the

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...

. In 2014, the system was deployed during the Ebola virus epidemic in Liberia to fly 12 ebola missions to the United States. N30LX (cn 438) has been modified by the addition of a ventral canoe and sensor turret as the "Dragon Star" Airborne Multi-Intelligence Laboratory for use by

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

. This has been leased by Italy since 2012. Calspan operates N710CF (cn 448), which has been modified as an airborne test bed. Modifications include a centerline pylon and a dorsal satcom radome Two Gulfstream IIIs, K2961 (cn 494) and K2962 (cn 495), equipped with long-range oblique photography cameras mounted in the fuselage, were delivered to the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

Operators

Military and government operators

Military and government operators of the Gulfstream III and C-20 include: ; ; * Cameroon Air Force (phased out) ; *

Schrøder, Hans (1991). "Royal Danish Airforce". Ed. Kay S. Nielsen. Tøjhusmuseet, 1991, p. 1–64. . ; ; * Ghana Air Force ; *

; *

Irish Air Corps The Air Corps () is the air force of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Organisationally a military branch of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Ireland, the Air Corps utilises a fleet of fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft to carry out ...

- leased aircraft ; *

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

operated two Gulfstream III from 1985 until 2003. ; * Ivory Coast Air Force ; *

Mexican Air Force The Mexican Air Force (FAM; ) is the air service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and as such overseen by the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA). The objective of the FAM is to defend the integrity, in ...

- (former operator) ; *

Royal Moroccan Air Force The Royal Moroccan Air Force (; ; ) is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces. History The Moroccan air force was formed on 14 May 1956 as the Sherifian Royal Aviation (). Its modern installations and bases were inherited from France (Bass ...

; ; ; ; * Ugandan Air Force ; *

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

; * Venezuelan Air Force ; * Air Force of Zimbabwe - No. 3 Squadron (former operator)

Accidents and incidents

* August 3, 1996 - Flew into mountain during final approach to Vagar Airport on Faroe Islands. The Gulfstream III (F-330) from RDAF - Royal Danish Air Force was destroyed killing all nine people on board, including the Danish Chief of Defence Jørgen Garde. * March 29, 2001 - While trying to land at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, an Avjet Gulfstream III crashed into a hill, killing all 18 people on board. * July 4, 2017 - On the outskirts of

Margarita Island Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the ...

, a Gulfstream III YV2896 of the Venezuelan Vice-President crashed into the sea with nine people on board. Two bodies were later recovered, with the remaining seven occupants believed to have been killed.

Specifications (Gulfstream III)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Michell, Simon. ''Jane's Civil and Military Aircraft Upgrades 1994–95''. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Information Group, 1994. . * Taylor, John W. R. (editor). ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982–83''. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. .

External links

* {{Gulfstream Gulfstream aircraft Twinjets 1980s United States business aircraft T-tail aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1979 Low-wing aircraft