GULFSTREAM LAUNCHES IN-FLIGHT SUPPORT CENTER
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. recently expanded its Product Support organization with the opening of a state-of-the-art In-Flight Support Center. The tools available in the center will help Gulfstream’s Technical Operations department troubleshoot in-flight situations faster. This department runs a call center, with more than 40 technical/system specialists available to support customers.
The call center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and features three flight-deck simulators as the centerpiece of the In-Flight Support Center. A specialist can induce faults into the simulator to mirror what is happening in flight.
The three cubical-sized simulators in the In-Flight Support Center feature 10 to 12 LCD touch-screen monitors with displays of the aircraft’s cockpit, instrument panel and pedestal. Using a computer and Windows-based software, the graphic simulators offer the tactile experience of a much larger full-motion simulator, including warning indicator sounds and flight displays that change as inputs are made.
These are particularly valuable when it comes to in-flight procedural questions. Rather than pilots reading what they see on the central maintenance computer (CMC) screen and a Technical Operations staffer prompting them to make specific selections in order to troubleshoot, the pilot and Technical Operations staffer can make the same selections.
The simulators provide other benefits to Technical Operations, including helping guide CMC improvements and serving as a resource for flight-deck familiarization. Currently, Gulfstream has one graphic simulator for large-cabin PlaneView-equipped aircraft, to support the G450/G550/G650, one for classic aircraft, to support the GIV/GV, and one for mid-cabin aircraft, to support the G100/G150/G200.
In addition to the simulators, the center also features a projector, a 9 1/2-foot projection screen, and two 46-inch high-definition monitors equipped with fleet-tracking software.
The 600-square-foot In-Flight Support Center is located on the third floor of the nearly 700,000-square-foot Gulfstream Savannah Service Center.
The simulators are manufactured by FlightSafety International at its Broken Arrow, Okla., facility.