By the early 1980s the Department was looking to replace its fleet of six Swearingen Merlins with new turbo-prop equipment. Shortly after the re-formation of a stand-alone Department of Aviation, and perhaps because of the long Departmental experience with the Aero Commander line, five new Gulfstream G1000s were ordered for delivery in 1983. The high wing of the G1000 was particularly suitable for Search And Rescue (SAR) work, one of the roles that the new aircraft were tasked with. A sixth aircraft was obtained in 1986.

The G1000, otherwise known as the Turbo Commander 695A, was a stretched, pressurised, turbo-prop derivative of the orignal piston-powered Aero Commander models. It was powered by two Garrett Airesearch TPE 311-10s (similar to but more powerful than those in the Merlins) of 800 hp each and had a ceiling of 35,000 ft. The aircraft ordered for the Department were equipped with an early Electronic Flight Instrument System, Omega area navigation equipment, a VHF Direction Finder and external, rear-fuselage hardpoints for mounting droppable SAR stores.

Apart from VH-LTM, the G1000s were all disposed of c.1993, along with the other remaining aircraft in the Civil Aviation Authority's general duties fleet.

Click on the images below to see photos of the Department's G1000s: