GRAHAMWARWICK / WASHINGTONDC
Business jet passengers will soon experience cabins as advanced and integrated as the cockpits of the aircraft in which they are flying
Business jet cabins have always been works of art and craft, but their creation has been transformed from a cottage industry to a production enterprise in the past five years. The transformation that began when the aircraft manufacturers took control of the completion process at a time of rapid growth is continuing through the downturn as they work to become more cost-efficient.
Until the latter part of the 1990s, the majority of custom interiors for business aircraft were installed by independent completion centres. That changed with the introduction of the new class of ultra-long-range business jets, first the Gulfstream V then the Bombardier Global Express. By bringing the completion of these costly aircraft in-house, the manufacturers sought to improve the product and their margins.
Both companies moved to boost their completion capabilities, Gulfstream buying Dallas-based K-C Aviation in 1998 and Bombardier acquiring the expertise of Innotech Aviation to set up its own centre in Montreal. The extra capacity was needed not only to handle rising production rates, but to cope with the increased level of complexity and customisation in aircraft costing upwards of $40 million when completed.
Both companies went through similarly painful learning experiences, with overlong completion cycles hindering the service introduction of first the GV and then the Global Express. They were not alone. Introduction of the 737-based Boeing Business Jet was slowed significantly by delays at some of the independent centres given the responsibility of completing the large-cabin aircraft.
Although those difficult days are now behind the manufacturers, and completion capacity is not an issue at today's lower production rates, the lessons learned introducing the GV and Global Express have reshaped the industry. Avionics and interior installation are no longer an afterthought in the design of business jets, and the integration that transformed aircraft cockpits is now being applied to the cabin.
Bombardier has pioneered the use of risk-sharing partners to provide complete systems for its aircraft, handing over responsibility for development of the electrics, hydraulics, flight controls and even flightdeck to carefully chosen suppliers. That approach has been taken a step further with the Challenger 300 (formerly Continental) super mid-size business jet, now in the final stages of certification.
The Challenger 300 is the first Bombardier programme in which the interior has been an integral part of the design, development and test effort - and the first in which one partner, in this case DeCrane Aircraft, is responsible for supplying a complete, integrated interior. One of the four aircraft in the development programme has been fitted with an interior so that avionics and completion options can be flight tested ahead of certification.
Completion of Challenger 300s will be performed at Bombardier's Tucson, Arizona, centre where all Learjets and most Challengers are completed. "Tucson installed the interior in aircraft four. We measured the completion cycle and we know the exact time to install the interior and options," says programme director Tom Hilpert. "At entry into service [in mid-2003], we will have a mature product."
Bombardier's decision to bring the interior into the aircraft programme was a direct result of its sobering experience with the Global Express, and the process will take another step forward with development its first derivative, the Global 5000 super-large business jet. "When we launched the Global Express we had no interior layout or specification, just a [completion allowance] weight which proved inadequate," says product manager Marc Bouliane. "The Global 5000 is sold with a full interior specification. Engineering for the interior takes place at the same time as that for the green aircraft."
Validation lessons
Service entry issues with the Global Express underlined the importance of validating the performance and reliability of the interior during certification flight testing of the aircraft. "The first [Global Express] interior was the demonstrator; the second was the first customer aircraft," says Bouliane. On the Global 5000 programme, the second test aircraft will be grounded soon after its first flight for installation of an interior at Bombardier's Montreal completion centre. The aircraft will complete eight weeks of flight testing to validate the interior systems and then enter service as a demonstrator for six months before the first customer delivery, "to iron out any issues", he says.
Bombardier has also incorporated lessons learned on the Global Express programme through better design of the Global 5000's systems. The completion allowance has been increased to 3,200kg (7,000lb), and several systems have been "repatriated" from the completion centre to the production line and included in the aircraft's empty weight. "Some systems, like water, waste, satellite communications and head-up display, we will install as standard in the green aircraft," says Bouliane. "For other systems where access is difficult, we will provide partial provisioning to make completions easier."
The company has taken its risk-sharing strategy a step further with the Global 5000, appointing partners for supply integrated cabin, lighting, water and waste systems. "There will be dedicated integration rigs at the suppliers. We will troubleshoot on the rigs, and validate in the aircraft," says Bouliane. Goodrich has been selected to provide the potable water system, and internal and external lighting using low-maintenance LED technology.
Rockwell Collins has been selected to provide the integrated cabin electronics, including the "global office" communications network, entertainment systems and environment management. The Global 5000 is the launch application for Collins' Airshow 21 family, the product of a combination of recently acquired cabin-electronics specialist Airshow and the company's integrated avionics and in-flight entertainment systems expertise.
Collins says Airshow 21 was developed to meet the manufacturers' demands for reduced cycle time, variability and cost in completions. "These are drivers similar to those that led to integrated cockpits," says Bryan Vester, senior director of marketing and strategic management. The heart of the system is an Ethernet local-area network. "Laying a common communications backbone into the green aircraft reduces variability." The Global 5000's digital cabin-management system will be fully tested before service entry, says Bombardier.
The Canadian company has elected to retain responsibility for overall integration of the Global 5000's interior, citing its complexity. But the industry may be on the verge of taking the next step - outsourcing complete integration of the cabin and its systems. Thales has teamed with DeCrane company Audio International to offer "a totally integrated system for digital communications, in-flight entertainment and environment management" with the potential that the cabin and its electronics could eventually be supplied to the completion centre as an integrated package.
Thales, as prime contractor, will provide the core system and connectivity, including high-speed satellite communications, while Audio International will provide the passenger audio-visual and cabin management systems. The core system, including file server and Ethernet switch, comes from Thales' I-series airline inflight entertainment system. "Installing the backbone during aircraft production will speed up completion and simplify the process," Thales says.
New strategy
Gulfstream's experience with introducing the GV has strongly influenced the company's sweeping new product strategy, which identifies customisation as a product in its own right. The new line-up includes derivatives of the GIV-SP and GV-SP - the G300 and G500, respectively - where avionics and interior options have been grouped into packages, limiting the customer's ability to customise the aircraft. Fully customisable variants, the G400 and G550, are available at higher cost.
"Customisation comes at a price," says president Bill Boisture. "The aircraft becomes a one-off for product support. Our experience with traditional customers is that they come to us saying 'why did you let me do this'. They are looking to Gulfstream to put together integrated packages."
Option packages on the G300 and G500 include different interiors and galleys, and communications and entertainment systems. "The option packages are based on our experience, and we are confident they will meet a high percentage of customer requirements," says Boisture. Packaging options not only simplifies completion and support, it allows Gulfstream to negotiate preferential pricing with its suppliers. "Vendors are specified in the packages, which assures them a return," he says.
With business jet manufacturing in a downturn, and operators delaying re-equipment because of the economic slowdown, attention is turning to the refurbishment market. Gulfstream is using its surplus completions capacity to offer refurbishment and recompletion services to operators of its business jet, using cabin designs developed for its new-build aircraft. Bombardier does not plan to follow suit, because the Challenger 300 and Global 5000 promise to keep its Tucson and Montreal centres busy.
But other centres are touting for the business, and the same integrated cabin systems developed for the newest business jets promise to make refurbished cabins more cost-effective and reliable.
Source: Flight International
