Joan Lunden Behind Closed Doors: Gulfstream Jet

they call it the g5 the first choice in air travel for many of the richest and most powerful people in the world join us as we go behind closed doors of both stream aerospace the company that has created what may be the most sophisticated and luxurious aircraft in the sky in the elite world of private aircraft Gulfstream Jets are considered to be the top of the line and the g5 is their top of the line price tag 43 million dollars traveling at nearly the speed of sound it cruises at 51,000 feet high above commercial air traffic it can fly from New York to Tokyo in less than 13 and a half hours on one tank of gas the quiet city of Savannah Georgia is home to Gulf streams 1.3 million square foot production facility I went behind closed doors to see what goes into making these high-priced private jets but first I wanted to experience flying on a g5 to see exactly what 43 million dollars can buy president and CEO o bill Boyce Chur accompanied me on my flight there is first class and there's this there's this okay this is a big difference the Jets are almost the size of a 737 the Gulfstream seats up to 19 the 737 seats 102 private jets are nothing like their commercial counterparts it's incredibly quiet the whole outfitting is designed to provide this environment the quiet environment I mean you've just been through the noisiest portion of the flight which is always take off and you and I conversed all the way through it it's like this luxurious little cocoon yeah with more than 1,600 square feet it's bigger than many houses the 50 foot long cabin can be a flying office or a home away from home oh we had a great ride these jets are a part of a world of power and privilege few of us will ever see on board behind closed doors multi-million dollar deals are signed and classified military missions are planned the US government uses Gulfstream Jets and so do other countries around the globe bill boy stur is a former Air Force pilot with decades of experience in the business jet industry so who is a typical Gulfstream customer well a typical customer is a is actually a large multinational private or public company or 33 governments around the world on our airplane and wealthy private individuals nine out of ten of the top fortune 500 companies have a Gulfstream and celebrity g5 owners include Jim Carrey Tom Cruise and John Travolta not only the rich and famous military officials cabinet members like : pal and even heads of state use g5s it's the airforce one for many countries and in fact given the mission might be to a small airport or for a specific reason our president could fly in this airplane the diplomatic missions that are going on right now in the world with respect to the Middle East and terrorism and so forth many of the leaders of our nation are flying on the sea 37a which is the the US Air Force version of the Gulf Stream 5 when you need to go Washington to buy non-stop you can do it in the g5 these ultra long-range jets can stay in the air for 14 hours at a time they're small enough to land where large commercial jets can't but they're big enough to accommodate special gear such as electronic surveillance equipment that's why they're used for special military missions the government buys the basic plane and then modifies it with whatever they want for Gulfstream's exclusive clientele private jets not only offer comfort but security they have the peace of mind of knowing exactly who is on board the plane and that's just the beginning the Jets can come equipped with a very unusual option a jamming device for anti-aircraft missiles which is built into the tail cone of the plane we have an infrared countermeasures system that can be put on the airplane and for certain customers the late King Hussein told me one day said bill I don't live in a nice neighborhood and so he was concerned about things like that and justifiably so and they need to be able to protect the house and we need to help them protect themselves behind these doors a team of researchers work to develop Gulfstream's cutting-edge technology on the production floor that technology is combined with old-fashioned craftsmanship these Jets are built by hand how long does it take from start to finish to make it's about 75 days from start until we fly and certify the airplane in the state that you see it in right now now that's what no interior that's what no interior that's correct in the completion Center the green primer coat is painted over and the interior is installed each surface is painstakingly prepared and every part carefully fitted from the carpet to the crystal everything is customized to fit the client's taste and lifestyle that area we tried designer Don Jensen showed me what's considered standard equipment 24 karat gold fixtures caps get imported from Italy and rare wood from around the world are all included in the purchase price even the bathrooms are designer chic there's a gourmet kitchen complete with Baccarat crystal Limoges China and Christophe silverware but the sky's not always the limit sometimes they have to draw the line so I had a customer ask for a tanning bed once we had to say no to but you had to say no to that yeah we rarely have to say no but it you know it has to meet all of the FAA requirements as opulent as these Jets are the company prefers to schools that help the rich and powerful make the most of their most precious commodity what's your favorite luxury on board actually it's time you make the maximum use of everyday times the most precious thing we have so this is a luxury to use time this way when we come back I find out what it's like to fly a g5 you see your bank angle here showing you as I take the controls behind closed doors will continue in a moment here on Andy behind closed doors with Joan Lunden continues here on Andy long line security checks canceled flights and crowds this is air travel for most of us but for those who can afford a multi-million dollar Gulfstream jet flying is an entirely different experience the big differences are you're in control of your environment you leave when you want to leave and you arrive where you want to arrive and you travel with the people you want to travel with you don't even have to have your seat in the upright position as your landing do you well there are certain things we like to have people do aboard the airplane to make sure that they they are safe and secure but yeah you get to determine quite a few things that go aboard your airplane it's your plane so you can smoke if you want to there's no charge for headsets and you can sleep in total comfort traveling by private jet is completely different and so is flying one when you are a pilot for a private jet you're on call all the time because your life has to kind of duplicate the CEO they fly for right that lifestyle is a lot different than a scheduled lifestyle that you have working for an airline first thing is it's not boring you get to interact with a very interesting clientele of people and you get to fly this kind of here you can fly this leading-edge technology we have technology that the airlines won't see for ten years people that on these airplanes don't mind pain to have that technology Gulfstream's new enhanced vision system is one of those breakthroughs we can see through weather and we can see at night so this is almost like night vision kind of a thing so the road when the rest of us are looking out the window and we nothing you can see through it and see that runway we're seeing the runway you're seeing the mountain you can see the deer on the side of the runway all that like Randy Gaston many pilots have military backgrounds others have worked for commercial airlines although most corporate pilots generally don't make quite as much as their commercial counterparts they can make close to six figures and their jobs are anything but routine the destination is always on no until you've got notifications say this is where we're going there's a different preparation period for that so you're gonna do a lot of your own homework nobody else is doing it for you flight attendants also have added responsibility since there is usually only one onboard they take care of fewer passengers than on commercial flights but they do much more than pass out peanuts everything's really up to her it's her show her dinner party she does fruit lots of wonderful food menus are printed it's so far removed from commercial flying you wouldn't believe a flight attendant on a private jet also has to know the value of discretion we don't ever talk about what happens on the airplane because private airplane means exactly that anything you see or hear you never heard it you never saw it but they have to know a lot more than just protocol Gulfstream crews can train at flight safety international next door to Gulfstream headquarters commercial or private all flight crews have to be prepared to handle any disaster full-size mock-ups of Gulfstream jet complete with motion smoke and water make evacuation training exercises as realistic as possible down the hall simulators put pilots through a rigorous program without leaving the ground every g5 pilot must be specially trained and certified every year Gulfstream agreed to let me sit in the pilot's seat and take controls of one of their jets but before I could go behind those closed doors I had to go behind these inside is an exact working replica of a g5 cockpit in here they can simulate just about any situation you'd encounter on a real flight okay we have Clint's to taxi out on the runway okay we're moving we're moving we took off from San Francisco International Airport and headed toward the Golden Gate Bridge just like driving your car except you've got one more dimension you've got altitude to worry about and just go ahead push over a little bit I'll see the span just yeah try to go down there between it you're kidding me we're gonna do this yeah sure the one good thing about simulator you can't hurt yourself the simulator lets pilots practice landing at almost any Airport in the world so if your corporate boss says I want you to take me to China to devour that's right you come in the simulator we can go ahead and practice that we go through all the procedures we can go actually they can go through all the radio calls everything with a little help I took it in for a landing all right good perfect I think we do okay you did great everybody and back would be okay all the passenger alive yeah so far so good but the simulator was only about 10 feet off the ground next I'd be flying at 51,000 feet waiting for me on the tarmac was a g5 now it was time for me to experience flying one of these jets the pilots handled the takeoff I waited to take the controls after the plane was at cruising altitude I had one pilot sitting next to me and another watching my every move that no oh wait which way did I need to go well I just you can go ahead and wings low turn to the right and see your bank angle here showing here there was so much to keep track of at nine and a half miles high I had to keep my wing straight and watch my speed my palms were sweating see how the players going up oh that's 30 degrees right there okay under the careful supervision of the pilots it cautiously banked the plane hey sky pointer there we go there we go okay the screen revealed all of my manoeuvres admittedly I didn't take the most direct route one this is amazing well I gotta tell you piloting the g5 was difficult but I was beginning to get a feel for the plane I relaxed a little and started to enjoy it back on the ground I was still on an adrenaline high they were very low I was intense I was focused because you're trying to look out in the front of the plane but you're also watching your altitude try to keep your wings straight there's a lot of stuff too and then you guys have to talk to the ground at the same time right we have to talk and play at the same time sometime that's it that might be a little much we thought you did an outstanding if you're tired of hassles lines and crowds and just happen to have a spare 43 million Gulfstream has the jet for you

Channel: JoanLunden

Views: 103,697

Rating: 4.8820224 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: ZndfC4NdHfg

Length: 13min 55sec (835 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 19 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/WingedGeek]

The 90s were a different time ... Joan Lunden's "Behind Closed Doors" took a look at the Gulfstream V, and Joan "flew" it for a minute or so. Watching her freak out at a 30° bank turn is kinda amusing.

Damn, those are nice birds.

[u/Technojerk36]

Huh didn't know a G5 could go from NY to Tokyo without refueling.

[u/itsjakeandelwood]

I love the 90's. I've been having a ball watching First Flights with Neil Armstrong on Amazon.