Gulfstream G550 heavy inspection and tail repair

[RhondaHonda]

Fabric instead of leather in a biz jet? Any particular reason for that?

 

[Cujet]

Fabric instead of leather in a biz jet? Any particular reason for that?

A soft interior, one with sound absorbing materials throughout is considerably quieter. In this case, the headliner, the side panels, the seats and weighted carpet padding are all chosen to reduce interior noise. I performed some sound level surveys in various interior configurations. The very first thing I noticed is that the claimed noise level was wildly incorrect. So much so, the numbers must have been made up. At no point in my testing was I able to reproduce the claimed numbers. Even raising the cabin altitude and thinning out the air (so to speak) , flying at unusually high altitudes and slow speeds did not result in matching numbers.

The bottom line is that while these aircraft are very quiet, they are not quiet enough for some noise sensitive people.

Cujet, how much cheaper is it to redo the original [interior] vs just replacement of the entire assembly?

I believe an all new interior is about $7-8M. A re-rag is a small fraction of that.

 

[Cujet]

I am curious as to the avionics suite and whether or not it contained RC avionics.

Both the G550 and the PC-12 NG have the same core systems, Honeywell Primus avionics (550=EPIC, PC-12=APEX) The difference being the Pilatus having 1 (MAU modular avionics unit) and the G550 3, and of course, the displays. As you might expect, they are exceptionally capable, despite not being leading edge. There really is nothing this avionics suite can't do. Well possibly orbital insertion into a Mars polar ellipse...

What's nice about it are the regular upgrades in both software and hardware. Just pull out a card and insert a new, more powerful one, say with more memory. I can load all the operational software myself, so if something gets glitchy, it's no problem to start over and re-load everything. Something that was not possible with older style avionics.

G550

PC-12 NG

 

[dkryan]

Interesting thread! Thanks for posting.

You could easily solve the problem of being “underpowered” by upgrading to that Pilatus!

 

[MolaKule]

Both the G550 and the PC-12 NG have the same core systems, Honeywell Primus avionics (550=EPIC, PC-12=APEX) The difference being the Pilatus having 1 (MAU modular avionics unit) and the G550 3, and of course, the displays. As you might expect, they are exceptionally capable, despite not being leading edge. There really is nothing this avionics suite can't do. Well possibly orbital insertion into a Mars polar ellipse...

What's nice about it are the regular upgrades in both software and hardware. Just pull out a card and insert a new, more powerful one, say with more memory. I can load all the operational software myself, so if something gets glitchy, it's no problem to start over and re-load everything. Something that was not possible with older style avionics.

G550

PC-12 NG

Thanks, Honeywell has a very capable system.

For the G280 they had the RC avionics "Fusion" suite:

RC Fusion

 

[wpod]

Planes are so close to "spaceships" these days.

 

[GMBoy]

Thank you for sharing! I got my pilots license even before my driver's license. My dad owned a 172 and we flew together a lot. I used to take dates on flights from our home in Baltimore to Ocean City MD (45min flight) - so much fun. Don't fly anymore, probably been 15 yrs. I thought of getting back into it but seems like after 9/11 any flight planning is a PITA. You used to be able to just get up and fly around aimlessly, now you have to alway have a flight plan etc. I live in Texas now and lots of open space to enjoy...maybe I will again one day after all

 

[Cujet]

You used to be able to just get up and fly around aimlessly, now you have to alwaya have a flight plan etc. I live in Texas now and lots of open space to enjoy...maybe I will again one day after all

You still can!! I do it all the time, flew to breakfast yesterday, met a new 177RG airplane owner and flew formation home to take some pics! Wonderful morning, perfect conditions. No flight plan, no checking with flight services, just a quick glance at my Foreflight app to ensure all was well before departure.

 

[nthach]

That Honeywell system looks strikingly close to big boy territory on a Boeing or Airbus commercial plane. Of course, not shocked if Honeywell supplied those too. Isn’t Garmin also supplying avionics for business/small aircraft too?