Still the most capable business-jets designed are Gulfstream aircrafts
The most capable business jets designed in the past three decades are
still Gulfstream IV and V series aircrafts, because of their range,
speed and inflight cabin comfort. Both Gulfstream aircrafts are equipped
with Honeywell SPZ-8000 series avionics systems. The Gulfstream IV
aircraft can fly 4,200 nm and the Gulfstream V aircraft can fly 6,500
nm. Both aircraft routinely cruise at Mach 0.80 or faster and they can
seat up to 12 to 14 passengers.
But back then, augmented GPS on the cockpit was in its infancy, the airspace was considerably less congested, paperless cockpits were mere science projects and uplinked weather graphics were pipe dreams. And CRT displays were cutting edge.
At the beginning of the new millennium, it became clear to Gulfstream Aerospace, among other OEMs, that older aircraft equipped with this generation of Honeywell avionics would need comprehensive cockpit display, FMS and radio upgrades to operate efficiently in the future.
PlaneDeck is Gulfstream’s trade name for its Honeywell Primus Elite flat-panel display retrofit for SPZ-8000, -8400 and -8500 avionics suites. A six-pack of 8-by-8-in. DU-885 AMLCDs, which fit into the same mounting racks, replaces the original half dozen DU-880 CRTs. Additional wiring and connectors, though, are needed to connect the displays to new left and right cursor control devices mounted in the cockpit side ledges, to a new USB thumb drive/SanDisk data loader and to an XM satellite radio weather receiver.
Each flat-panel display has its own internal graphics processors and database that enables it to host specific functions when plugged into a specific rack in the panel. At present, display units 2 and 5, which function as left and right navigation displays (NDs), can host Jeppesen electronic charts, enhanced map graphics with XM radio weather overlays and video provided by on-aircraft visible light or infrared EVS cameras.
Swapping out the cockpit CRTs for LCDs has other benefits. The LCDs consume so much less power that they have double the expected life and don’t require external cooling fans or air filters that must be changed.
But back then, augmented GPS on the cockpit was in its infancy, the airspace was considerably less congested, paperless cockpits were mere science projects and uplinked weather graphics were pipe dreams. And CRT displays were cutting edge.
At the beginning of the new millennium, it became clear to Gulfstream Aerospace, among other OEMs, that older aircraft equipped with this generation of Honeywell avionics would need comprehensive cockpit display, FMS and radio upgrades to operate efficiently in the future.
PlaneDeck is Gulfstream’s trade name for its Honeywell Primus Elite flat-panel display retrofit for SPZ-8000, -8400 and -8500 avionics suites. A six-pack of 8-by-8-in. DU-885 AMLCDs, which fit into the same mounting racks, replaces the original half dozen DU-880 CRTs. Additional wiring and connectors, though, are needed to connect the displays to new left and right cursor control devices mounted in the cockpit side ledges, to a new USB thumb drive/SanDisk data loader and to an XM satellite radio weather receiver.
Each flat-panel display has its own internal graphics processors and database that enables it to host specific functions when plugged into a specific rack in the panel. At present, display units 2 and 5, which function as left and right navigation displays (NDs), can host Jeppesen electronic charts, enhanced map graphics with XM radio weather overlays and video provided by on-aircraft visible light or infrared EVS cameras.
Swapping out the cockpit CRTs for LCDs has other benefits. The LCDs consume so much less power that they have double the expected life and don’t require external cooling fans or air filters that must be changed.
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