Aircraft Maintenance Technology

APR 2013

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AVIONICS TECHNOLOGY GWhiz The wonder of new technology in a Gulfstream G650 T By Jim Sparks Jim Sparks has been in aviation for 30 years and is a licensed A&P.; He is the manager of aviation maintenance for a private company with a fleet including light single engine aircraft, helicopters, and several types of business jets. He can be reached at sparks-jim@ sbcglobal.net. 26 April 2013 he future of supporting a Next attack based on pressure changes at different Gen compliant, fly-by-wire airpoints of the probe. One notable difference craft, just became a reality for me. between this Gulfstream and my JetStar is My company will soon be operatthe lack of pneumatic hoses within the pitot ing a Gulfstream G650 and I had and static systems. These probes have integral the opportunity to occupy the jump seat in pressure transducers transmitting digital sigthe green aircraft during the relocation flight nals to a processor circuit where all necessary from the factory to a completion facility. What air data computations are made. an eye-opening experience! Total Air Temperature (TAT) probes on Relatively early in my career among other each side of the nose area had some familmachines, I worked on the Lockheed JetStar iarity and provide the onboard processors (also a product of Georgia) and became very with an input voltage that corresponds to air loyal to the program. Back then, temperature. These probes are the Gulfstream II was known designed to compensate for the to us unceremoniously as a compressibility of air and proSmart Probes "GWhiz." vide a chamber where a thermissample both As we were preparing to get tor can sample a static temperathe latest version Gulfstream ture regardless of aircraft speed. ram air and airborne, flashbacks from the The nose houses weather static pressure. '70s wafted through my brain. I radar capable of alerting the remembered the awe-inspiring flight crew to a potential windsmoment when first entering the hear condition. In the predictive JetStar flight deck and the feeling of wonder wind shear detection mode, the weather radar accompanying the how and why of the switch processor detects the presence of a microburst, clusters and then over the years becoming a type of vertical wind shear condition by proficient in the use of the cadre of strategicaldetecting the Doppler frequency shift of the ly arranged switches, lights, and instruments. microwave pulses caused by the microburst In fact just powering up the old Lockheed ahead of the aircraft and displays the area was like plugging in a well ornamented where it is present to the crew through one Christmas tree. Now being somewhat seaof the flight deck display units (DU) and is soned in the profession, I honestly believed accompanied by an audible alert. the thrill was gone and had been contemplating the headaches associated with putting a Enhanced vision system new model, low serial number aircraft into The top of the nose cone is home to an service. Even the thought of a four and a half enhanced vision system (EVS) sensor. It has hour flight in an interiorless machine and been said that the revolutionary Gulfstream possibly having to use an empty paint can EVS is one of the greatest strides forward in as a means of relief for bodily functions was aviation safety since the introduction of the adding to my skepticism and when the factory instrument landing system in 1929. EVS, comprovided flight crew arrived, it did my heart bined with the heads-up display (HUD), delivgood to see they each had some gray hair. ers a level of situational awareness that pilots in the JetStar days could only dream of. Smart probes Inspired by the Forward-Looking Infrared The exterior preflight check revealed numer(FLIR) technology developed and manuous points of interest including the four factured through a Kollsman/Gulfstream "Smart Probes" that sample air data. I came partnership where Kollsman pushed infrared to learn these devices observe both ram and technology to develop a camera that operates static pressure and can even deduce angle of in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) spectrum. Aircraft Maintenance Technology • www.AviationPros.com • www.AMTSociety.org

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