Manufacturer to modify Gulfstream V simulator to make it interchangeable with G550 configuration in under 6h
CAE is to develop the first full-flight simulator convertible between the Gulfstream V and G550 business jets, which have the same airframe but radically different cockpits. The GV simulator at Emirates-CAE Flight Training in Dubai will be modified to convertible configuration in mid-2005. Last month, the joint venture between CAE and Emirates signed Switzerland's GV Executive as its anchor customer for G550 training.
Developed from the GV, the G550 features Gulfstream's PlaneView integrated flightdeck, built around Honeywell's Primus Epic avionics. This features four large-format liquid-crystal displays (LCD) on the main instrument panel and cursor-control devices (CCD) on the sidewalls, as well as changes to the centre pedestal and overhead panel.
To make the simulator convertible, CAE plans to install a modular main panel with slide-in racks that allow the GV's six cathode-ray tube displays and other instruments to be plugged in, then removed and replaced with the G550's LCDs. CAE is designing a modular sidewall to allow installation and removal of the CCD sidearms, says Joey Calouri, director programme manager, civil simulation and training. Centre-console control display units and overhead panels will be interchangeable, he says.
The goal is to be able to convert between GV and G550 configurations in under 6h, says Calouri.
GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
