On Monday, July 4, a private jet belonging to Tech Mogul and American business magnate, Bill Gates, landed in Nairobi, sparking speculations about the flight.
According to the flight's tracking device, the Gulfstream G650 touched down in Nairobi on Monday shortly after leaving Jozi, South Africa following a flight of four hours and 48 minutes.
The jet had landed in South Africa on Thursday, June 30, before taking off on Saturday, July 2.
The arrival of the jet in South Africa and Kenya triggered speculations of a possible visit by Bill Gates- whose last tour in Africa was in 2019.
The Gulfstream G650 / N194WM model is one of two private jets used by the billionaire philanthropist. The two private jets replaced his previous Bombadier 700 Global Express jets in 2018. According to Forbes, the cost of the G650 ranges from Ksh7.6 billion to Ksh8.2 billion ($65 million - $70 million).
Features
Arguably, the fastest civilian jet in the world, the plane consists of some of the most sophisticated features rivalling anything in the sky.
The G650 can fit an average of 18 passengers and has a maximum range of 7,500 nautical miles or 13, 890 kilometres.
The plane further has a maximum speed of 955 kilometres per hour. In 2019, the G650 model achieved the fastest and farthest record for flying between Singapore and Arizona in only 15 hours and 23 minutes.
The jet consists of two engines for efficiency. The engine's manufacturing company, Rolls Royce, built the engine to hold 17,680 litres of jet fuel.
There are currently over 400 Gulfstreams G650s in the world globally. Apart from Gates, Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos owns the N194WM model.
