Bill Gates's Gulfstream G650ER flies from North Weald to San Jose in 10 hours 12 minutes

Bill Gates's Gulfstream G650ER, tail N887GV, flew from North Weald Airfield in Epping, Essex, United Kingdom to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport on Saturday, October 24, 2026. The flight departed at 08:48 UTC and landed at 19:00 UTC, spending 10 hours and 12 minutes in the air. The great-circle distance was 4,659 nautical miles, or 5,362 miles.

The aircraft reached an average ground speed of 457 knots on this leg. The arrival field at San Jose has a longest runway of 11,000 feet and sits at an elevation of 62 feet. The distance from the home base on file at Boeing Field in Seattle to San Jose is 611 nautical miles.

The Gulfstream G650ER is an ultra-long-range jet with a range of 7,500 nautical miles and a ceiling of 51,000 feet. It typically seats 12 passengers and can carry up to 19. This flight used about 62 percent of the aircraft's range. Our estimate puts fuel burned at about 4,796 US gallons, producing about 46,074 kilograms of CO2, roughly the same as driving a car 114,046 miles. The aircraft reached a top ground speed of 526 knots and a maximum altitude of 45,025 feet.

In the 30 days before this flight, tracked aircraft linked to Bill Gates made 30 flights. The most common destinations in that window were Seattle, with three landings, and Mountain View, also with three landings. The longest leg in that period was the Newark to Zaventem flight on October 21, covering 3,190 nautical miles.

San Jose was not a destination for any of Bill Gates's tracked aircraft in the 30 days before this flight. The home base on file is King County International Airport, also known as Boeing Field, in Seattle. Usual destinations include Palm Springs, West Palm Beach, Las Vegas, and Bozeman. In the days before this trip, N887GV flew from Newark to Zaventem on October 21, and from Zaventem to London on October 22. One other tracked aircraft landed at San Jose in the 24 hours before this arrival: a Gulfstream G550 linked to Tim Draper, about 13 hours earlier.

Bill Gates is a Microsoft co-founder, philanthropist, and investor with a net worth estimated at $104 to $107 billion. He focuses on global health, development, and climate philanthropy through the Gates Foundation, Gates Ventures, and Breakthrough Energy. His home base is in Seattle, and he owns properties in Palm Springs-area communities, Florida, and Montana. San Jose is near Silicon Valley, where Gates has investments through Gates Ventures and where he has spoken about technology and philanthropy, though no specific appearance was confirmed for this date.

The aircraft is registered to MENTE LLC. Two other MENTE LLC aircraft operate from Hangar 80 at Boeing Field: N608GV, a 2021 Airbus Helicopters H145, and N897GV, a 2022 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. Both are used for short hops around Puget Sound.

This flight follows a pattern of long-haul international trips in recent weeks. The aircraft had been on the ground for about two days before this flight, after landing at London Stansted on October 22. The flight from North Weald to San Jose used a significant share of the aircraft's range, leaving margin for a return leg or onward travel. The departure field at North Weald has a longest runway of 6,332 feet and sits at an elevation of 321 feet.