Aero-Propulsion Management Services (APMS) of the UK has been named sales agent in Europe and the Middle East for the Gulfstream II/III hushkit under development by Stage III Technologies. La Joya, California-based Stage III expects final certification of its hushkit in October, with the first pre-production unit to be available in January.
Director of sales and marketing Chris Hicks says the company has had approval on the acoustic portion of the hushkit, which uses a new exhaust mixer and fixed ejector nozzle, since December 2003 on the winglet-upgraded GIISP. Since then, he says, Stage III has been completing the new cascade-type thrust reverser and amending its supplemental type certification to include the GII and III.
US Federal Aviation Administration flight testing of the thrust reverser is expected shortly. The hushkit reduces noise generated by Rolls-Royce Spey-powered Gulfstreams to an aggregate 5dB below Stage 3, Hicks says, and adds less than 45kg (100lb) per shipset. There is no change in take-off performance and the range penalty from extra drag is less than 5%, he says.
Stage III is competing against Quiet Technologies Aerospace (QTA), which has hushkitted more than 20 Gulfstreams, for a market to retrofit around 410 aircraft, says Hicks. Pre-production price for the Stage III hushkit is just under $1.8 million, rising to $2 million once production begins, he says. QTA cut its hushkit price from $1.65 million to $1.35 million in October 2003.
Source: Flight International
