Upgrade Improves Aircraft Safety, Flight Paths And Fuel Efficiency For GIV, GIV-SP, G400, G300

Gulfstream Aerospace has received FAA approval to begin installing updated flight management system (FMS) software, version 6.1, on GIV series business jets. The new software is designed to enhance aircraft safety, reduce fuel consumption, provide access to more airports and improve operational efficiency. The upgrade, called FMS 6.1, adds Wide Area Augmentation System-Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance (WAAS-LPV) capability and prepares GIV, GIV-SP, G400 and G300 aircraft to fly Required Navigation Performance Special Aircraft and Aircrew Authorization Required (RNP-SAAAR) operations.

“FMS 6.1 advances Gulfstream GIV aircraft for the next generation of air navigation,” said Mark Burns, President of Gulfstream Product Support. “The benefits of this upgrade impact more than 500 Gulfstream aircraft worldwide. Its increased functionality enables pilots to operate with lower approach minima, which allows more flights to land at airports in lower visibility conditions where LPV approaches exist. This saves both time and fuel.”

WAAS-LPV provides access to more than 2,980 approaches in the U.S. and enables a crew to use instrument flight rules for approach and landing down to a decision height as low as 200 feet above touchdown, with visibility as low as one half-mile, without the need of ground-based navigation aids. The FMS 6.1 upgrade provides a building block for Future Air Navigation System (FANS) 1/A and comes with two GPS antennas, two WAAS GPS receivers and two cockpit annunciators.

Installation of FMS 6.1 can be performed in five days at any Gulfstream service center. The upgrade is done through Aircraft Service Change (ASC) 477.

FMI: www.gulfstream.com