The sky is the limit, literally. Flashing a fleet of the latest models of Bugattis, Maybachs, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Rolls Royces is passé. The über rich are claiming their piece of the sky, gathering a fleet of fab flight machines that can flit across the seven seas at the speed of sound.
No wonder then that Bombardier Aerospace delivered 143 business aircraft in the Fiscal Year 2010/11. Similarly, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is already dealing with a backlog of over 200 deliveries for its latest ultra-high speed business jet, the G650, which would be certified later
this year.
Introduced in 2008, the G650 will carry eight passengers and a crew of four on non-stop legs of 7,000 nautical miles (12,964 km). With its powerful Rolls-Royce BR725 engines, the G650 will cover shorter distances at a speed of Mach 0.925.
Talking about it, Jeff Miller, Vice President, Communications, Gulfstream, who was in India to participate in the Aero India 2011 air show held in Bangalore, says, “The G650 has all the attributes sought after in the world of business aviation. It is the fastest civilian plane. The only thing faster than this is the military jet. At a speed of .925 Mach, you would be travelling almost at the speed of sound (which incidentally is Mach 1)!”
The cabin of the G650 features a clean design, electric seats, a state-ofthe- art cabin management system, unmatched cabin sound levels, the industry’s lowest cabin altitude, and a large, easy-to-use galley.
Measuring 75 inches high and 98 inches wide, the cabin is the largest purpose-built business jet cabin in the industry. In plain terms, this means larger seats, tables and more legroom. The cabin can be configured with a four-place conference table with two additional seats across the aisles
|
for
meals or meetings for up to 6 people. In fact, one can choose from 12 select floor plans to customise the G650 to meet one’s personal requirements.
One of the USPs of the aircraft, according to Miller, is the lowest cabin altitude in the industry – 4,850 feet at a flight level of 51,000 feet, almost negating jet lag, which occurs due to the lack of oxygen in the cabin.
Another highlight is the digital control of cabin systems through touch screens, capacitive touch switches and passenger control units. Using an iPod touch that is synched to a particular seat on the aircraft, passengers will be able to control the lighting, temperature, speakers, monitors, entertainment equipment, window shades, cabin view system and attendant call for their specified location on the aircraft.
The galley as well is similar to a gourmet kitchen, housing a stainlesssteel appliance stack with two coffee makers, a microwave and a convection oven, a refrigerator, a solid-surface countertop with a removable cutting board over the sink and a 10-inch touchscreen.
The G650 comes with many advanced safety features such as Enhanced VisionSystem, which uses a nose-mounted forward-looking infrared camera to generate actual, real-time images of the aircraft’s surroundings. The system dramatically increases situational awareness at night and during
low-visibility daylight conditions by allowing pilots to see terrains, runways, taxiways and approaches that are undetectable by unaided sight. Its Planeview cockpit comes equipped with Automatic Emergency Descent Mode, 3-D weather radar, Advanced Flight Controls – in short, a full array of sophisticated, next-generation technology to improve pilot situational awareness and enhance safety. |
