Gulfstream Aerospace Gulfstream 3 (N992NA)

I was very curious as to exactly what the function is of the object under the center of the fuselage (between the wings), but the only person around was the crewman by the ladder, and it was obvious to me that he was quite busy so I did not disturb him. I hung around awhile but he went into the Gulfstream and when I heard one of the engines start I knew he would not be finished for some time so I departed after getting plenty of photos. But I'm still wondering what that item of equipment does .....

Thanx, rwb. Very Much Appreciated! I'll check it out pronto. Regarding the catch ... I was following it on FA as it was enroute here from Grand Junction. I was positioned near RNO's parallel 16s waiting for it to land. But when it arrived in the area it went around in circles off to the south and I finally decided it wasn't really going to land here. Fifteen minutes after I relocated to get some terminal shots, I heard it radio in. By then, the best view I could get was on top of the parking garage so I hustled there and hoped it would land on 16R (the closer runway). But it landed on 16L. I did get some fairly decent clicks of it even though I was pushing beyond the reach of my lens but those pics are long-range so I decided to post this shot that I took later when I was on the airport grounds. Wish I had hung out near the 16s a while longer.

rwb >> Just finished reading about it. WoW! I had no clue! The info about the pod was quite interesting, and to read that this aircraft was the transport aircraft for astronauts after they returned from the ISS was a total shocker! This was indeed a rare catch -- far more rare than I ever suspected. I am tremendously grateful to you for hooking me up with the link. TYVVM.

Fantastic catch, Gary and thanks, rwb2112, for the article!

Nice shot - Something else 'interesting' about this G-III, which your picture captures very well, is it's 'hush kit', which is integrated into the thrust reversers. G-II's and G-III's were very noisy with their Spey engines, so something had to be done to enable them to comply with FAA/ICAO noise standards. This retrofit kit did the job.

http://qtaerospace.com/qta-gulfstream-stage-3-hush-kits/

Nice shot of a rare and interesting bird! Gary, you might want to check your email box. rwb112 thank you for the interesting article I enjoyed it.