Introduction

The GLF650 is based on the Gulfstream G650 - one of the best-selling long-range business jets produced by Gulfstream Aerospace. Designated as Gulfstream GVI in its type certificate, it can carry up to 19 passengers to distances of over 7,000nmi (13,000km) at a top speed of 0.925 Mach (531 kn; 983 km/h). Introduced to the public in 2008, it had its first flight on November 25th 2009 and the first jet was delivered three years later. As of May 2024, more than 560 Gulfstream 650’s were built.

Two variants of this aircraft were made: G650 and G650ER. The ER version has a modified fuel system, extending its range by 500 nautical miles compared to the G650. The G650ER has broken many records for the longest non-stop flights in a business jet, including Hong Kong to Teterboro, Los Angeles to Melbourne, Singapore to Las Vegas, and the final one, Singapore to Tuscon, which clocked in at 8,379nmi, retaking the record back from the Global 7500 in April 2019.

First impressions

At first, getting into the GLF650’s cockpit felt like stepping into the unknown. It's been a while since I’ve flown in a business jet aircraft, and I was reminded how fun those can be.  For the first flight, I decided on a rather short flight from Bournemouth to Barcelona. The aircraft comes with the MCDU manual, Introduction document and checklists. Starting the aircraft is easy too, as it's very similar to starting an airliner. 

After showing the nearby stored B737s who’s the boss, it was time to fire up the engines. The engines started up pretty quickly, and we were taxiing to the runway in no time. I heard many stories about the performance of this plane, so I decided to check it out to see if they were true. The EFB calculator claimed that the minimum runway length for takeoff was 1200m, but as the aircraft was fairly loaded, I managed to shorten the predicted take-off distance by 400m (¼ of a mile)! 

The climbing performance is unmatched by any civil aircraft I’ve ever flown - 12 minutes to FL410! After escaping the cloudy England, it was time to speed up to M.90 and check out the aircraft systems and the passenger cabin. 

An hour later, it was time for our descent into Barcelona! The aircraft perfectly follows the VNAV path which also does a great job following all the speed and altitude constraints in STARs. I was a bit surprised when I disconnected the autopilot as I was immediately greeted by the warm Mediterranean winds which veered me off a course a bit. I did manage however to get back on course and land safely on runway 07R.

Aircraft Systems

I was surprised by how complex the systems are! The PFDs are divided into two ⅙ sections, while the MFDs are divided into a single ⅔ section and two ⅙. The pilot can also select whether they would like PFD over the whole DU1 and DU4, or to combine it with two ⅙ pages. The MCDU is also quite different from the ones that I’ve seen. Luckily, AKD provides an MCDU manual along with other documentation about the aircraft, and after getting a hold of it, it's easy to navigate around. The addon also comes with an EFB, where one can control payload and fuel, a ground handling page, an FPL page that comes with SimBrief integration, as well as a performance calculator for take-off and landing calculations, checklists and audio and cabin lights control. 

Modelling and Textures 

The cockpit has been perfectly replicated in the sim, with a lot of small details that bring up the realistic feel. While the cockpit textures may not look the greatest, from what I’ve managed to find on the internet, they do look pretty similar to the real aircraft. The part where this aircraft shines though is the cabin. It excellently represents the cabin of a business jet. It’s nice to see the developer paying attention to smaller details such as the coffeemakers in the galley, a TV with a moving map in the cabin, no smoking and sealt belts signs, and a modelled cargo hold which can be entered from the toilet.

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The exterior is no exception, as the details on the landing gears and fuselage are stunning. Another fun detail is that you could perform a walk-around check yourself and remove the gear pins and pitot tube covers instead of doing it in EFB.

Flight model

This plane handles pretty well and feels very light! Even though the aircraft can weigh up to 45 tonnes, it still feels like it’s half-loaded thanks to its powerful engines. The aircraft features fly-by-wire controls, and it’s really easy to fly it. You might require some slight trimming adjustment, but that’s it. It took me some time to get used to these controls, but I got the feeling pretty quickly.

Sounds

The sounds are pretty good, however, there is place for improvement. The cockpit buttons, switches, and knobs do sound great, but the engine sounds feel a little underwhelming, especially in the exterior view. Still, the sounds are good enough, and getting references for a plane as exclusive as this one isn’t easy at all. The engine spool-up sound is perfectly matched though and it really feels like you are in a real G650!

Performance

On my system (RTX3060 12GB, i5-10400, 16GB RAM) I didn’t experience any performance issues. The performance is great, as this aircraft isn’t very hardware-heavy, and I had constant +30fps while flying it. 

Conclusion

Overall, the AKD Studio GLF650 is an amazing addon. As an airliner type of person, I was really impressed by this aircraft! I enjoyed flying it and will definitely fly it again. Considering the system's depth and complexity, the price of $44.95 is fair, and in my opinion, fully worth it. The bizjet market for XP has been quiet for a long time, and addons like this really bring it back to life. If you are looking for a versatile business jet that can fly long hauls and land at challenging airports with short runways, this jet might be just for you! 

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Special thank you to AKD Studio for providing us with a review copy!