GULFSTREAM G700
underneath or an articulating bed
with various preset positions for
comfort. For the other side of
the room, options include a
bureau, two seats, a seat and
a closet, or a divan.
There’s room for a 4K
high dynamic range (HDR)
IFE screen that can be stowed,
or a monitor can be set into
the bulkhead. “Some of the
4K displays offered in the
industry don’t have HDR,” says Aziz.
“There is a big contrast between the
two. If you put them side by side, the
one without HDR is going to just look
like a 1080p or something.”
There are many options
for the lavatory area, including
altitude The cabin
will
a version large enough to
4,850ft
incorporate a shower and
be at
two cabin windows.
(1,478m)Gulfstream has a mock-up
51,000ft
of that option at its facility
(15,545m)
in Savannah, Georgia.
NEW IDEAS
One interesting idea showcased in the NBAA-BACE
mock-up was a hidden safe that could only be opened
by fingerprint. Another idea is a valet mirror featuring
embedded flight information fed by the CMS. “It’s still
in development; we’re experimenting with it,” says Aziz.
“You could customise it to see the time to destination,
weather or news articles, just in the background.”
Aziz says Gulfstream is now working on certification
and reliability for this feature. “One of the things we really
hone-in on is that we want our products to be reliable,”
he notes. “You don’t want to bring half-baked stuff to
the market, because it’s bad for customer satisfaction.
So we’re working through it. I think the technology’s
there. We have a couple of prototypes and we have to
take it through hurdles and make sure it’s reliable.”
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020 JANUARY 2020
This aircraft also incorporates a circadian lighting
system that uses white and amber LED lights to recreate
sunrise and sunset, the aim being to help passengers
adapt to new time zones and reduce the physical effects
of longer journeys.
Gulfstream has made sure the spacing between lights
is very narrow, to allow more flexibility. Aziz says the use
of LEDs enables a greater range of light settings, including
very low-light environments to support gentle transitions
from sleep to waking. “The majority of lighting systems
will go down to a certain voltage level – maybe 30%,
which is still pretty bright – and then just drop down to
zero,” says Aziz. “If you’re illuminating the cabin after
waking up, 30% will be overly bright for your eyes.
With our system, the lights can be dimmed to around
0.01%, and it also allows for very real sunsets and
sunrises, which can be tied into your flight profile.”
WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT
In terms of customer preferences, Aziz says the biggest
priorities are connectivity (a Ka-band system is standard
on the aircraft), reliability, seat comfort and flexible
solutions that disappear when you don’t want them.
“We’ve delivered on all of those things,” he says.
Aziz adds that the desire for flexible solutions could
be influenced by the rise of on-demand services, such as
Netflix and Hulu in the entertainment realm. “If I need
something, I want it there right away, and when I don’t
need it, I want it to go away,” he says. “That’s the thought
process we were aware of in designing this. We’re
starting to work on it; we’re not all the way just yet.”
ABOVE: DURING THE LAUNCH
EVENT, GULFSTREAM AIRED A VIDEO
SHOWING THE AIRCRAFT TAXIING
UNDER ITS OWN POWER AT THE
COMPANY’S HEADQUARTERS IN
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
“One of the things we really
hone-in on is that we want
our products to be reliable;
you don’t want to bring halfbaked
stuff to the market”
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