Gulfstream Celebrates The 25th Anniversary of the First Flight of the GIV

Photo Credit: Gulfstream

The Gulfstream hompage reports is the 25th anniversary of the first flight of the Gulfstream IV.

“The GIV was the aircraft that launched a thousand Gulfstream aircraft,” said Joe Lombardo, president, Gulfstream. “It formed the foundation for designing and building the G300, G400, G350 and G450. The aircraft’s first flight was a milestone and turning point for the company.”

Longtime Gulfstream employee Jim Gallagher, an acoustics engineer for the GIV program, said the aircraft revolutionized the industry. More than 520 of the 536 jets produced in the GIV series are still in operation.

Source: Gulfstream

Test Establishes Gulfstream G650 As World’s Fastest Civil Aircraft

Gulfstream has announced the Gulfstream G650 recently reached Mach 0.995 as part of its 1,800-hour flight-test program. This accomplishment establishes G650 As World’s Fastest Civil Aircraft.

Photo Credit: Gulfstream

According to Gulfstream, the aircraft achieved this speed during flutter testing, which evaluates the aircraft’s damping responses following an input from an external test device.

Flutter testing is performed at a variety of frequencies, speeds, altitudes, weights and centers of gravity. In order to achieve the maximum speed of Mach 0.995, Gulfstream experimental test pilots Tom Horne and Gary Freeman along with flight test engineer Bill Osborne took Serial Number (S/N) 6001 into a dive, pitching the aircraft’s nose 16 to 18 degrees below the horizon.

Photo Credit: Gulfstream

During the dive, flutter exciters introduced a range of vibration frequencies to the wing, tail and flight control surfaces to ensure the aircraft naturally dampened out the oscillations without further action from the pilots.

Source: Gulfstream

Happy National Aviation Day

Photo Credit: Library of Congress

Today is National Aviation Day and 138th birthday of Orville Wright.

The National Park Service reports on events taking place at the Wright Brothers National Memorial to mark the occasion.

NYCAviation.com features a list of aviation milestones that have taken place on August 19th, including the founding of Embraer Aircraft in Brazil in 1969.

Source: NYC Aviation and The National Park Service

Pilot My-Cast iPhone App Includes Aviation Fuel Prices and Charts

Digital Cyclone, Inc., a subsidiary of Garmin, has announced upgrades to Pilot My-Cast by Garmin app that is available on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

Photo Credit: Garmin

According to Garmin, the new features – fuel pricing and approach charts – will be available soon at no additional cost from the iTunes store. Thanks to the real-time fuel price information, pilots will no longer need to wonder where they can find the cheapest 100LL and jet fuel. Pilot My-Cast displays fuel prices at the pilot’s current airport and along their current route.

“We recognize that the essential information pilots need, like weather, constantly changes. Pilot My-Cast is designed to give personalized, up-to-the-minute information that is relevant to a pilot’s specific flight,” said Craig Burfeind, president of Digital Cyclone, Inc. “From getting the best price on fuel to checking the weather to filing a flight plan, Pilot My-Cast is all about putting information and tools in a pilot’s hands that is tailored to them.”

Source: Garmin

The Bose A20 is Engineered to Deliver Greater Noise Reduction

Bose has introduced the new Bose A20 Aviation Headset, described as "the result of more than 30 years of ongoing Bose research in noise reduction technology".

Photo Credit: Bose According to Bose, the A20 has been engineered to deliver significantly greater noise reduction -- even in louder environments -- and offers improved comfort, clear audio reproduction, and new features, including a Bluetooth communications interface, auxiliary audio input, and priority switching of audio sources.

“Since introducing the industry’s first active noise reduction headset in 1989, we’ve continued our aviation research with a very specific goal: to improve the flying experience for pilots,” said Sean Garrett, general manager of the Bose Noise Reduction Technology Group. “With the A20 headset, several proprietary technologies work together to deliver a combination of benefits that wasn’t available until today.”

To achieve a greater level of noise reduction in the cockpit -- where noise levels can reach 105 dBA -- the A20 Aviation Headset uses a new, more advanced approach to active noise reduction, leveraging the technology used in the acclaimed Bose QuietComfort 15 consumer headphones for the more demanding applications of pilots.

Source: Bose

Cessna Sells New Aircraft to Nine Global Training Fleets in the First Half of 2010

Photo Credit: Cessna

Cessna Aircraft Company reports the sales of new aircraft to nine global training fleets in the first half of 2010, marked by the recent delivery of the 12th 172 Skyhawk to a Russian training program.

Photo Credit: Cessna

Since January, Cessna has delivered more than 60 aircraft to major aviation university programs in the United States and for training programs in countries such as Egypt, Korea, Turkey and Uganda, in addition to several programs in Russia.

Photo Credit: Cessna

“The reasons Cessna aircraft are so popular with training programs is the range of products we offer – whatever is required, we have aircraft to meet their needs - the reliability of our products and Cessna’s reputation for customer service,” Gibbs said. “They know our support network is one of the largest in the industry. If they need support, it is likely going to be very close by.”

Source: Cessna

Bombardier Aerospace Builds All-Composite Manufacturing Validation Unit

Bombardier Aerospace has announced it has reached another significant Learjet 85 aircraft program milestone, having successfully built the first all-composite manufacturing validation unit (MVU) for the aircraft’s pressure fuselage section.

Photo Credit: Bombardier

This unit will be used to validate the design concepts, manufacturing processes and quality as the program advances towards the beginning of production, scheduled for later this year.

“This is another crucial step towards the start of production of the first Learjet 85 aircraft,” said Ralph Acs, Vice President, Learjet 85, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “Our next step will be to apply what we learn from this first manufacturing validation unit to the second unit, in order to confirm our technology readiness.”

Source: Bombardier