Yeah, Gulfstream just rolled that bad boy out last week. Our company will buy a bunch of them, but you won't see me flying it. I'm finished with planes that have that kind of range unless they are truly supersonic- my ass can't take 14 hours flights any more like I used to do in the P-3. My next new toy will be the XLS+, which is basically an upgrade of what I'm flying now. It can pull about a 4 hour leg, max, and most of the ones we fly are 2-3. That's a civilized amount of time that prevents me from developing deep vein thrombosis and being able to avoid using the aircraft lavatory. The new Gee-whiz is a sweet-ass airplane, though, and it's going to be very, very popular. The G-5 just went out of style, and their market resale value just took a big hit.
I, too, find that a very important criteria! The one and only time I used the lav on a Continental ERJ-145 was after 90 minutes of sitting at Newark waiting for a thunderstorm in Kentucky to get out of the way. The one and only time I ever used an airplane lav, and the fucking light was burned out! I had to aim, close the door, and shoot blind.
Yes, now imagine being the captain and having to use the lav in a plane where you know your passenger and there are maybe, at the most, 5 people in the back. I'll do it if I have to, but it's always awkward. EDIT: Oh, and to be clear, we're talking about taking a whiz here. I have never in my life taken a dump in an airplane, and never intend to. TMI, I know.
Actually, I ask 'em to keep an eye on my copilot because his wife just divorced him and he's been a bit "twitchy" this week...
