Gulfstream Aerospace, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), recently completed the 50th installation of its industry-leading Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display (SV-PFD). The milestone comes one year after the company began offering the vision-enhancing technology to operators of large-cabin Gulfstream aircraft.
Gulfstream developed SV-PFD in cooperation with Honeywell Aerospace. The device is a dramatic enhancement to the PlaneView® flight deck displays, which feature Honeywell Primus Epic avionics. SV-PFD provides a three-dimensional color image of the terrain overlaid with primary flight display instrument readings. The readings are arranged to create a large-view area of the terrain.
Additionally, the system combines previously certified terrain data from the Honeywell Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) with obstacle data to accurately depict terrain, obstacles, runways and approaches at locations throughout the world.
Gulfstream announced in July 2006 that it would become the first business-jet manufacturer to offer synthetic vision for new and existing aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified SV-PFD in late 2007 and Gulfstream installed the first system in February 2008.
“Reaching this milestone one year after offering SV-PFD speaks volumes about the many safety benefits this product provides operators,” said Pres Henne, senior vice president, Programs, Engineering and Test, Gulfstream. “SV-PFD offers an increased level of awareness that reduces pilot technical errors as well as their workload. Ultimately, the device gives pilots the information they need to make faster and more accurate tactical flight decisions, resulting in increased safety.”
Randy Gaston, vice president, Flight Operations, Gulfstream, has given a number of presentations and demonstrations on SV-PFD.
“Our operators have embraced the benefits of SV-PFD,” Gaston said. “One pilot called it ‘the window to the outside world’ and said that, if it had been available in the past, accidents would have been avoided. Another said that showing SV-PFD to other pilots resulted in ‘instant display envy.’ Their enthusiastic acceptance of SV-PFD is reflected in the number of installs we’ve done so far.”
SV-PFD is available as an optional upgrade on PlaneView-equipped Gulfstream G550, G500, G450 and G350 business jets. It will be standard equipment on the new ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range Gulfstream G650.
