Less than a week after the surprise launch of Gulfstream’s new G600 and G500 large-cabin jets, the company is showing off a full-size cabin and cockpit mockup of the G600 at the NBAA static display at Orlando Executive Airport. The G600 and the slightly smaller G500 were announced October 14 following a highly secretive five-year development program. A G500 already is assembled, taxiing and preparing for its first flight early next year.
Gulfstream projects it will receive type certification from the FAA and EASA in 2017 and begin deliveries in 2018. The G600 flight-test program is expected to begin approximately 12 to 18 months after the G500’s, and entry-into-service is projected to be in 2019.
The new programs last week secured the strong support of launch customers Flexjet and Qatar Executive. Flexjet placed a firm order for six G500s, plus 10 G450s and six G650s, and options for 28 more aircraft. Qatar Executive signed a memorandum of understanding covering a 20-aircraft mix of G500s and G650s.
The G500 can fly 5,000 nm at Mach 0.85 or 3,800 nm at Mach 0.90. The G600 is capable of traveling 6,200 nm at Mach 0.85 or 4,800 nm at Mach 0.90. The maximum operating speed for both aircraft is Mach 0.925, the same speed as Gulfstream’s G650 and G650ER. Power for the pair will come from Pratt & Whitney Canada’s new PW800 engines. The 16,000-pound-thrust class PW814GA and PW815GA powerplants have the same core technology used in the company’s family of geared turbofan commercial engines. They have a 10,000-hour TBO and no midlife inspection requirement.
The aircraft’s common cockpits feature the new touchscreen Symmetry flight deck driven by Honeywell Primus Epic avionics and active control sidesticks. The avionics include Gulfstream’s enhanced vision, Honeywell’s synthetic vision with 3-D taxi and a head-up display system. The full three-axis digital fly-by-wire system offers benefits that include flight-envelope protection, stability augmentation, increased redundancy and reduced maintenance.
The streamlined and highly styled cockpit is the most striking feature of the aircraft’s interior, finished in black leather with metallic accents. Most of the visible switchology found in earlier designs has been eliminated. Inputs are made through a group of five Honeywell touchscreens with large and easy-to-view icons. Gulfstream’s familiar cursor control devices (CCD) are integrated into the center console at the head of the hand grips. The console extends aft of the pilot seats, but it is lower-slung, making step-over entry and exit easier.
The CCD gives each pilot control of three of the four main display screens and allows data to be shifted between them in the event of a failure. Gulfstream is considering offering a dual head-up display for the co-pilot position. Out the window and over the nose visibility is expansive. The gaspers are large and located to provide optimum ventilation. The new design Ipeco crew seats have multiple adjustments. The elbow rests behind the sidesticks also are adjustable as are the rudder pedals. There is ample storage in the sidewalls for personal items. Two 110-volt power outlets are located aft of the pilot seats.
The finished passenger cabin of each aircraft measures 91 inches wide and 74 inches tall–about seven inches wider and two inches taller than cabins on the current production G450 and G550–and they can be configured for 19 passengers. The G500 has three living areas and the G600 has up to four as well as an optional crew rest area. Both aircraft have forward and aft lavatories and include a full-size galley that can be located either forward or aft. The baggage compartment is accessible through the aft lavatory, has 175 cu ft of usable volume and has additional floor and ceiling tracking to allow for flexible loading. The main baggage door also has been enlarged.
The G500 and G600 also will feature a new seat design with all seat controls located on the inboard armrests and pockets sculpted into the interior arms for more hip room. Some architecture from the Elite interiors developed for the new G650 and later migrated to the G550 and G450 is featured in the G500 and G600, such as the high-tech display of galley and IFE equipment. For now, a 32-inch flatscreen appears to be the largest monitor that will be able to be mounted above a mid-cabin credenza while maintaining adequate access to emergency egress. However, Gulfstream executives stressed that this is a largely all-new cabin interior design and likely not the final cut. IFE offerings in particular are expected to progress between now and 2017, and a final determination has yet to be made.
Gulfstream plans to use the mockup to elicit and record customer feedback here at NBAA. Accordingly, it is finished in neutral colors, fabrics and veneers to appeal to a variety of tastes.
The cabin in the mockup also features more built-in storage nooks in the cabin sidewalls and the seats as well as USB charging ports. Both aircraft provide a cabin altitude of 4,850 feet at FL510 and 100 percent fresh air. The aircraft use the same large oval windows that are on the G650 with dimming provided by a dual roller shade system. The cabin noise level for the G500 and G600 is expected to be extremely quiet, less than 50 dBA. The new latching mechanisms for the cabinetry are also quieter.
“We’ve built lots of flexibility into this cabin,” said William Gay, Gulfstream director of completion sales.
Gulfstream told a press conference yesterday that the new Savannah production line to be used for the G500 and G600 models will represent a “significant” advance over the G650 production line. The G650 line already uses 80 percent fewer fasteners and 50 percent fewer parts than the G450/550.
