The G500 on display here in Orlando this week features a full production interior, giving visitors their closest glimpse yet of what Gulfstream’s new large-cabin jet will deliver to passengers. As the fifth aircraft to join the flight test program, it is also critical to the success of the certification program and the manufacturer’s efforts to ensure a smooth entry into service. The company has already been using its new cabin integration test facility in an effort to get the interior as close to flight ready as possible before it even leaves the ground.
“We are fully flight testing the interiors to ensure that they work in real operational conditions,” explained Gulfstream’s interior design director Tray Crow. “For this program there has been a greater emphasis on functionality and customer interaction. We’ve learned lessons about joinery and how it changes at altitude, and this, for example, has led to changes in the pocket doors. We’ve also considered the impact of furniture attachments on cabin noise.”
Compared with the cabin mockup that Gulfstream displayed at the 2014 NBAA show right after launching the G500 and G600 models, the first production interior puts greater emphasis on showing off the width and brightness of the cabin. Crow and his team have spent a lot of time talking to customers and taking detailed notes on their preferences. Among other changes, this resulted in introducing a more concave and simplified shape to the interior and new ways to stow monitors to save space.
“The overall cabin volume is the same but we now have more options for covering materials to create more personal styles,” Crow said. The Gulfstream interiors team has developed three sets of interior styling—classic, layered and sport—to help prompt conversations about customer preferences. They can evaluate the various interior options on a special iPad app. The seating included in the G500 on show here at the NBAA convention will also give examples of the different styles.
The G500 cabin features a full-size galley that can be located in either forward or aft positions, as well as a lavatory at either end and a large baggage compartment. Gulfstream has retained the enlarged windows used for the G650, and is promising “industry-leading” cabin noise levels (following extensive testing in its acoustics laboratory). Cabin altitude with 100 percent fresh air is 4,850 feet at FL510 and 3,670 feet at FL430.
