The G500: Gulfstream’s game changer
Gulfstream G500 sidestick control
The G500’s controls are simply amazing. They are electronically linked, but the symmetry is so tight and sharp you’d think there’s a mechanical link under there. BAE Systems designed and Gulfstream shepherded the system and it is a job well done. I love the fact they move in unison, giving each pilot both visual and sensory information about the commands being requested by either the pilot flying or the autopilot. Should the system fail, they refer to passive modes and should there be a discontinuity issue between the two sides, the left or captain’s side prevails. Stall prevention is the same as in yokes, with tactile information being delivered through the sidesticks. The auto-throttles also move as the aircraft is flown through its paces, giving a visual clue to what is happening in any phase of flight.
One my biggest complaints about the older GIV was the less than ideal seating arrangement for the pilots. The situation was remedied in subsequent models , which were considerably more comfortable. The G500 took the whole equation and went one better. There is no yoke, so no need for seat cut outs. I delighted in the novel concept of crossing my legs once airborne. The shaggy shearling seat covers of old have been replaced by modern-looking and more comfortable perforated leather, fitting the new luxury-car interior feel of the G500. I love it, though I wasn’t crazy about the parking brake. It feels like a high-end car’s parking brake, which is nice, but I still prefer the old-style pull-and-twist lever. I do love the new tray tables. They are so much more civilised than trying to balance my iPad on my lap or on the side.
The cockpit design feels very clean with fewer switches than expected. There are 10 touchscreen controllers (TSCs) that are more ergonomic than anything else flying. They replace the Audio Control Panels (ACP), the Multifunction Control Display Units (MCDU), the Display Control Function of the Standby Multifunction Controllers (SMC) and most flight deck switches, giving a Starship Enterprise feel and greatly improving dispatch reliability. Turbulence was perceived to be a problem with the new digital controllers, so Gulfstream designed a very clever system with recessed rubberised sides to anchor your fingers, which makes activating switches a pleasure. They then took the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors on some very rough rides to prove they work.
The touchscreens are resistive rather than capacitive. Resistive screens work when pressure from the fingers forces contact between the different thin layers of the screens. They may not be as bright as capacitive ones, but they are far tougher and tolerant of spills and contamination. Intelligent input recognition software reduces the risk of a finger sliding into the wrong switch. One huge advantage of this new technology is weight reduction, the holy grail of aircraft design. The design architecture is based on iconology and shallow menus, so what you need is there upfront and there’s no need to tap through screens to reach the desired function. The Cursor Control Devices (CCDs) have been relocated to the centre pedestal. A major improvement as far as I’m concerned.
Flying the Gulfstream G500
Starting the engines is child’s play. You simply turn on the fuel switches and press the overhead start button on the screen. The Dual-Channel Fadec system does all the rest. Gulfstream says you can go from a cold plane to off the chocks in 15 minutes, but I think 10 minutes or even eight seems completely possible. Gulfstream learned some lessons from the G650 and made the G500 even more pilot-and mechanic-friendly. Maintenance is simplified and events are spread further apart with airline-style 750-hour major inspections. The G500 is the first corporate jet built with a Data Concentration Network (DCN) to reduce parts and weight. This system collects data through a high-speed network and makes it available to other systems, such as the health trend monitoring system. This reduces cabling and power consumption and eliminates the potential for single point failure.
The view over the nose is significantly improved, with the newly-designed side cutout in the eyebrow panel. The support pad for the sidesticks can be raised to accommodate pilots of different heights and for extra comfort. Taxiing is different from earlier models, and the rudder pedals can be used for anything but the tightest turns. I thought the nose tiller was a little twitchy at first, but 100 yards later I realised it was my arm doing the twitching. I popped a thrust reverser to slow down. The brakes are great and smooth. The Nordam Advanced Thrust Reversers produce almost 50% more reverse thrust efficiency.
Situational awareness is greatly improved with an all-new Honeywell SmartView Synthetic Vision System. It basically delivers 2D and most importantly, 3D airport moving map views that make runway incursions all but impossible. This is a great safety improvement when you consider the deadliest aircraft accident in history happened when an airliner mistakenly entered a runway in Tenerife while another plane was on a takeoff roll. This system depicts runways and taxiways along with airport structures and signs and hazards.
Next-Generation EVS III with four times the resolution of the previous EVS II unit further increases safety. The Head-Up Display has a new digital video interface. The Symmetry Flight Deck is easy to get used to and its architecture logical. It has all the standard bells and whistles and is RNP 0.1 capable. GPS WAAS and Localiser Performance with Vertical (LPV) approaches are possible. A big addition to the avionics is FANS1A Controller Pilot Datalink Communications (CPDLC) to deal with present and future navigation and communication requirements and there’s comfort knowing there are no big capital improvements needed in the future.
V speeds are much lower than in most classic Gulfstreams and the acceleration is brisk. At medium weights the G500 is downright fast. I rotated and the G500 is sensitive in both pitch and roll. Unlike its predecessors this bird is fast around its axis and it’s a pleasure to fly. Climb rate is aggressive and despite ATC altitude holds we were up and running at Flight Level 470 in no time. Normal cruise is Mach 0.85 and fast cruise is 0.90. Gulfstream promised 5000nm at 0.85 and 3,800nm at 0.90, but the G500 delivers 5,200nm at 0.85 and a whopping 4,400nm at 0.90. Max cruising speed is a bruising Mach 0.925 and the aircraft has been flown to 0.995. It will do New York to Buenos Aires and New York to Ankara or Cairo in its sleep. It will do London to Tokyo or Hong Kong or Johannesburg and London to Los Angeles, too. Forget London to Dubai, it will do Mumbai with its eyes closed and it’s fuel-efficient. All those trips will come in at considerably less than 30,000 pounds fuel burn. Fuel burn as equated to speed in most aircraft tends to be exponential when speed is increased, yet the G500’s fuel consumption is surprisingly linear.
The G500 will climb to 41,000 feet at max weight at ISA and can further climb to 51,000, well above weather and regular traffic. I didn’t get to sample the radar as conditions in Savannah that day were near perfect, but it’s the same superb Honeywell RDR 4000 3-D scanning unit I knew from flying the G650. It has an integrated terrain database to eliminate ground clutter.
Delight in flight
In flight, the G500 is a delight. One advantage of Fly-By-Wire technology is that the control forces are by definition artificial and can be programmed in any way. The result is the aircraft you took off with is the plane you fly and land with even as you burn fuel. Basically the handling characteristics remain constant independent of weight and centre of gravity. The active system provides flight envelope protection and won’t let you stall at slow speeds, while providing buffet protection at high Mach speeds. The system is easier to service as it has fewer components and its Built-In-Test (BIT) system improves trouble-shooting.
The G500 is an electric plane. It’s mostly a Direct Current (DC) plane actually. Two 40 kVA engine-driven and one 40 kVA APU-driven super reliable and time-tested generators are the main electrical power sources. There’s an airline-style big plane Ram Air Turbine (RAT) that produces 15 kVA in the very unlikely event you have a bad day. There are two 53Amp-Hr Ni-Cad main batteries for normal functions as well as two dedicated Ni-Cad batteries for flight control system backup and two dedicated Ni-Cad batteries for emergency situations. The Honeywell HGT400G APU can be started at 37,000 feet and operated up to 45,000 feet for extra comfort in case or trouble.
The hydraulic system is similar to the G650’s with its two independent systems. The Environmental Control System is comprised of dual ECS packs and one pack alone can run both the pressurisation and air conditioning and heating systems in flight. The system produces 100% fresh air all the time and leaves you feeling rested and fresh.
At 43,000ft, the cabin pressure is a measly 3,670ft and at 51,000ft the cabin is still a low 4,850ft. The cabin can be brought up to 80 degrees Fahrenheit from minus 40 outside in less than 30 minutes. A searing 122F temperature outside can be made liveable at 75F in the cabin in a little over 25 minutes.
At the insistence of my fellow crewmembers, I took a break and sat in the back. The cabin is wide and comfortable and the 14 G650-style signature oval windows are huge. It’s also extremely quiet, and a normal conversation between separate seating areas is possible. The optimised cross-section of the cabin delivers a very wide and spacious feel to the area. The entrance door is large at over six feet and only very tall individuals have to bend down to enter the aircraft. I love the new stairs. There are two side rails now and the steps feel less steep and better spaced.
Gulfstream is reticent about how many orders they have received. None has been delivered yet and the aircraft we flew was still an experimental unit, but the marketplace must be waiting with bated breath. The G500 is a game changer, and the best Gulfstream has made. I can’t wait to enter one into our management company’s fleet and start to flying it.
