"Chris Clarke" (shiftsandgiggles)
05/20/2015 at 13:30 • Filed to: gulfstream g500, clean cheet, first flight, mad props, planelopnik
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"Chris Clarke" (shiftsandgiggles)
05/20/2015 at 13:30 • Filed to: gulfstream g500, clean cheet, first flight, mad props, planelopnik | 5
| 18 |
After six years in the making, the Savannah based Gulfstream Aerospace made a huge technological leap forward when the spanking new G500 with a clean-sheet design took flight for the very first time yesterday.
The test flight departed Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport and lasted just over two hours. During that time all primary flight control systems were tested in various landing and takeoff configurations. Test pilots Scott Martin and Kevin Claffy worked with flight test engineer Bill Osborne to evaluated the aircraft’s handling capabilities at speeds up to 194 knots and at altitudes up to 15,000 ft.
The G500 along with its sister ship, G600 were !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! with some surprising changes. In a departure from the typical technology found in the rest of the Gulfstream fleet, the decision was made to drop Rolls-Royce as the engine provider after a partnership spanning decades and instead opting for power provided by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW814GA turbofan engines.
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One of the biggest surprises in the announcement was the move toward a fly-by-wire flight control system that replaced the traditional center mounted yoke control wheel with active-control sidesticks. The active sidestick is an adaptation of a military application similar to those used in the Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighter that gives the pilot tactile and visual feedback in response to the command inputs given by the pilot or autopilot. The main advantage of the sidestick is the superior ergonomics that allows the crew to be closer to the avionics and take advantage of cutting edge touchscreen technology.
Honeywell’s Symmetry flight deck is equipped with 10 touchscreen controllers providing pilots with a tremendous amount of flight information. The integrated touchscreens will give crew access to system controls, flight management, communications, checklists, and monitoring weather and flight information. Gulfstream created an entire full flight deck integration facility in order to properly test and evaluate the connection between software and the physical flight control hardware.
Two massive production facilities have also been built in Savannah with 400,00 square feet of manufacturing space each to specifically accommodate the assembly of the G500 and later the G600. This production will now also include the manufacturing of wings for both new aircraft which is currently handled by the Triumph Aerostructures - Vought Aircraft Division who designs, builds, tests and has delivered over 600 wings for the GV family of aircraft.
Yesterday’s first flight was conducted by one of the five planned flight test aircraft including a fully spec’d product plane that will allow the company to fully test interior elements in order to provide optimum passenger experience to its customers. The $43 million vehicle is expected to receive certification in 2017 and deliveries to begin in 2018.
Photos: Gulfstream Aerospace
Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
> Chris Clarke
05/20/2015 at 13:37 |
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Love the article. What happened to your presence on FlightClub?
DrScientist
> Chris Clarke
05/20/2015 at 13:37 |
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Racescort666
> Chris Clarke
05/20/2015 at 13:38 |
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That is a beautiful flight deck. I’ve been used to seeing glass cockpit on most aircraft (all of the new stuff at my last company was glass cockpit) but that is very well laid out.
Also, Chris, you’re a pilot right? Can you comment on having the stick on the right vs left for right seat and left seat? Is that something that’s hard to get used to or do you fly in the same seat every time? i.e. if you fly as pilot in command, you are always pilot in command when flying this aircraft and therefore always sit in the left seat?
One more question and maybe this was answered by the video (I didn’t watch it), what type of construction is this aircraft? Metal fuselage/metal wing or is this a composite aircraft?
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Chris Clarke
> Racescort666
05/20/2015 at 13:54 |
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The only sidestick I’ve ever flown is on the Cirrus. It was very intuitive to transition to, in fact probably even more so than a typical yoke. Moving from left or right seat required very minimal adjustment to get used to.
As far as construction, I haven’t found any specific information but I’m assuming it must be a traditional metal on metal airframe.
Jayhawk Jake
> Chris Clarke
05/20/2015 at 14:08 |
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I don’t really know that Id call this revolutionary....
Maybe for Gulfstream, but not beyond them, it's not really doing anything new
ttyymmnn
> DrScientist
05/20/2015 at 14:14 |
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ttyymmnn
> Chris Clarke
05/20/2015 at 14:16 |
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While the active control stick provides feedback from the system, does it mirror the inputs of the other pilot?
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ttyymmnn
> Jayhawk Jake
05/20/2015 at 14:18 |
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I wondered a bit about that too. I don’t know much about the Gulfstream fleet, but I think I would use the word evolutionary rather than revolutionary. It still
looks
like a GS, after all. I guess it goes back to our discussion the other day about “the next leap.” If they had put FTL engines on this, that would be revolutionary.
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Chris Clarke
> Jayhawk Jake
05/20/2015 at 14:23 |
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Not up on every single aircraft out there, but in the civilian business jet market, I don’t believe there’s another option that combines the active-control fly-by-wire with a touchscreen flight deck that can fly at Mach .925.
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Jayhawk Jake
> ttyymmnn
05/20/2015 at 14:25 |
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It’s the first Gulfstream with a side stick, and I believe the first with that version of the Honeywell flight deck.
But it's not using new construction methods or really doing anything unique. That isn't a bad thing mind you, but it's not revolutionary.
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Jayhawk Jake
> Chris Clarke
05/20/2015 at 14:28 |
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If you have to qualify it that much it’s not a revolution.
The Citation X+ has a touchscreen cockpit (okay, touchscreen controllers) and flies Mach .935. The Legacy 450 and 500 have full FBW and use a side stick.
The G500 might be the first to do all 3 of those things, but that doesn't make it a revolution.
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Chris Clarke
> ttyymmnn
05/20/2015 at 14:35 |
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Yes.
Electronic linking of the two control sticks in the cockpit allows each pilot to feel the forces and see the displacements the other is causing.
http://www.baesystems.com/article/BAES_1…
The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!)
> Chris Clarke
05/20/2015 at 15:18 |
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While I’m no fan of touch screens (in cars), I think they have a lot of potential in aircraft. They’re a big improvement over using bezel mounted rotary encoders with push-button functionality and a few soft touch buttons to control the myriad functions of the FMS.
I wonder what touch screen technology Honeywell used on their system.
You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
> Chris Clarke
05/21/2015 at 09:29 |
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That looks strange seeing a plane flying around at altitude with the gear down. Any idea how many flights are usually made before they start retracting the gear?
Tohru
> Chris Clarke
05/21/2015 at 23:33 |
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Looking forward to the crash testing of it. Wonder how it handles CFIT.
AirKing
> DrScientist
05/22/2015 at 10:08 |
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First off in the video that forgot to put the gear up...next, the 747-8 out of the factory only needs 6 touchscreens vs 10 on the G5/650? Nice jet...but nothing earthshattering..
newsmctado
> Chris Clarke
05/22/2015 at 11:14 |
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Is it typical to fly wheels down on an initial test flight like this? Is that just extra precaution in the preliminary testing?
AirplaneTim
> Racescort666
05/28/2015 at 12:04 |
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Not certain about the fuselage, but I know that the wing and empennage are predominately composite.