Identifying a plane over San Francisco [B99988 - Gulfstream GL650]

Lisa P

Active Member
I need help identifying this plane. I have tried for a few hours now and I am sure there is someone here that will be able to find it in a matter of minutes! The closest I could find was a Bombardier Express however I need the shot from the undercarriage. http://www.airvectors.net/avcrj.html

Only identification available on flightradar24 as B99988 which I found as Iran Air Tours.

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I tried to explain that one to Patrick Roddie, the conversation ended when I got close. gulfstreamabc.jpg https://www.facebook.com/groups/globalskywatch/permalink/10156849448165302/

This screen shot is also from a youtube from Mr Roddie. Harold Saive has questioned the likeness to the plane I posted saying it is nothing at all like the plane. People just need to be encouraged to look and question everything.

I also found this on Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Tours#/media/File:MD82_Iran_Air_Tour_UR-CHZ_May_2011.jpg
 

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Only identification available on flightradar24 as B99988 which I found as Iran Air Tours.

That is a red herring: that B99988 is a flight number, not an aircraft registration number. Airlines have a two-character identifier, which is followed by the flight number. B9 is Iran Air Tours, so that represents flight number 9988.

Flight numbers can be confusing because there are two systems in place, a three-digit and a two-digit one. So for example that flight could be called B99988 or IRB9988 (IRB being the equivalent three-digit code.) Both often show up on flight tracking sites. For example easyJet flights can be seen as either EZY1234 or U21234: both U2 and EZY are shorthand for easyJet.

Neither of these refers to the actual aircraft, though, only to the flight route.
 
I've been doing a bit of digging on Chinese sites and it looks like this is the private jet of Terry Gou, the founder of the Hon Hai group, aka Foxconn, the Chinese firm than manufactures Apple products. So it makes sense that it would be flying between California and Taiwan.

He formerly had a G550, and he has just upgraded to a G650, with a very similar registration. There's a pic of the old one here: http://www.airteamimages.com/gulfstream-g550_B-99888_terry-gou_139479.html

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You can see why he upgraded that shabby old thing :p


Edit: I just noticed that the comments on the YouTube video Mick posted also mention that this is Terry Gou's new plane: auto translation below

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I was just trying to show him that there are multiple G6X's up there.
I think Mick was saying to Lisa that the Iranian MD-82 she posted wasn't it. As I said above, there was confusion between an unrelated Iran Air tours flight number (B99988) and the registration of the Gulfstream in question.
 
I think Mick was saying to Lisa that the Iranian MD-82 she posted wasn't it. As I said above, there was confusion between an unrelated Iran Air tours flight number (B99988) and the registration of the Gulfstream in question.
You're right, I was still on my first cup of coffee.
 
That is a red herring: that B99988 is a flight number, not an aircraft registration number. Airlines have a two-character identifier, which is followed by the flight number. B9 is Iran Air Tours, so that represents flight number 9988.

It seems even more confusing that that. Iran Air Tours flights are like B9988 (i.e. B then four digits starting with 9). FR24 lists these correctly:
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/b9988/
20160422-092706-8yfqk.jpg

But if you put in B99988 (with the extra 9) you get the G650's flights, but still listed as Iran Air Tours
20160422-092916-r8faf.jpg

Presumably this is a bug in FR24 - it's attempting to deduce the airline from the callsign, which in this case is the plane's registration (tail number).
20160422-093107-5cwrp.jpg

The odd number 99988 seemingly comes from Chinese numerology. 999 and 88 are both lucky numbers, with 88 signifying wealth, and 999 being a general super lucky number. 99988 might loosely be translated as "everlasting good fortune and wealth"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/88_(number)#In_Chinese_culture
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/09/content_12023487.htm
 
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Here is Mr Saive's latest comment on Mr Roddie's video. I am intrigued how he has structured his sentences and used his words to make out something sinister is happening when in actual fact he has no proof at all and even if we presented him with the owner of the jet and the details of the flight he probably still wouldn't believe it.

I don't feel so bad about not being able to easily find information about that flight now. It is like you need to be an expert in so many fields just to understand or work out some very normal every day occurrence's. Thanks for your help on this it is very appreciated and just reinforces in my mind not to believe anything till I find the source and can check it over for myself.
 
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Paint the underneath blue and the engines and engine holders white take a photo at 40,000 feet and that is what you get.
The G650 has a top speed of 530 knots. Harold Saive commented it was going 560 knots however the image captured in the video says 520 knots.
 
The G650 has a top speed of 530 knots. Harold Saive commented it was going 560 knots however the image captured in the video says 520 knots.
I imagine it would be quite possible for a plane to have a ground speed faster than its "top speed" if the wind was behind it.
 
The confusion here seems to be the difference between the callsign (or flight number) and the registration (or tail) number. Private aircraft do not have airline type flight numbers but they still need to use a callsign to communicate with air traffic control etc. Rules on assigning callsigns are described in ICAO Annex 10 Radiotelephony Procedures (see below) and private aircraft fall into the Type a category as they have no aircraft operating agency.

Some private aircraft will transmit their registration as their callsign, some won't, and some can come from a database mapping an aircraft's ICAO hex code to its registration. I routinely see aircraft with callsigns like CXXXX (C followed by 4 letters) around here because Canadian aircraft registrations have the prefix C followed by 4 letters. Based on the G6's registration B-99988 you can tell that it is a Taiwanese registered aircraft.

5.2.1.7.2 Radiotelephony call signs for aircraft
5.2.1.7.2.1 Full call signs
5.2.1.7.2.1.1 An aircraft radiotelephony call sign shall be one of the following types:

Type a) —the characters corresponding to the registration marking of the aircraft; or

Type b) —the telephony designator of the aircraft operating agency, followed by the last four characters of the registration marking of the aircraft;

Type c) —the telephony designator of the aircraft operating agency, followed by the flight identification.

Note 1.— The name of aircraft manufacturer or name of aircraft model may be used as a radiotelephony prefix to the Type a) call sign above (see Table 5-1).

Note 2.— The telephony designators referred to in b) and c) above are contained in ICAO Doc 8585 — Designators for Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services.

Note 3.— Any of the foregoing call signs may be inserted in field 7 of the ICAO flight plan as the aircraft identification. Instructions on the completion of the flight plan form are contained in PANS-RAC, Doc 4444.
 
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Before I jump to conclusions would some kind person please check this video to see if you can view all the comments that debunk the mystery sprayer? I have had someone reply to my comment and now I see all his prior comments solving the mystery however only in my notification window. Is there a way you can disable peoples comments on youtube so the commenter can still see them but nobody else can?


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWVRPGt-2u0&feature=youtu.be
 
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