btw a friend of mine has flown G150 over Syria, Iran and other countries.
When was this? It's kind of hearsay but I've heard of issues.... I'm not anti the product I'm just interested... I've had a Lebanese client refuse one saying it's not allowed and I figured it might, sadly, be the case.
I've flown the 150 and it's actually a rather competent aircraft. I'm still skeptical about the whole boots on moving leading edges thing, and to an extent I still am. The Q-feel system doesn't match the combination of hydraulic and manual controls very well [there is a disparity between pitch and roll feel] and the fact that it has the same switches as the Hawker but they work in the reverse sense [down for on] pissed me right off. I also didn't like the little stand you need for the door or the crappy design of the fold out cabin monitor.
That said, they were really the worst of the negatives. I was, in overall terms actually very impressed. For the money it's fast, easy enough on fuel, handles nicely (not withstanding the above) the Proline is more like the CL30 than the Hawker and, IMO, suits this kind of application perfectly. It also has a decent external baggage bay. I know I've 'ranted' a bit but it's easy to pick up the negatives in any scenario and it's actually a great aircraft.
Regarding training, yes, thats a total rip-off; the monopoly is a major problem here... With a Hawker you can barter - you get quoted $23.8k and pay $9k at the same place. but it doesn't change the fact that business jet training is something of a cartel. The sims are busy enough but somehow it's still possible to get a B744 initial for slightly more than half of a Hawker recurrent?!?! This all leads to another problem.... Contract/freelance crew????
If it was my money, I'd pitch for something more mainstream but one of the beauties of GA is that no two operations are the same and I see no reason why a properly resourced operation that chooses the 150 on merit shouldn't be entirely happy with the outcome.