Avionics
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // SEPTEMBER 2019 51
permanently installed to allow a large
variety of flight testing, and all
equipment accessible inside the pressure
vessel. It has production antennas and a
GPS antenna mounted externally. Its
operating costs are somewhat different to
those of the Citation as well.
“The Citation installation was completed as an
STC for this airframe, with production dual antennas,
and for PMA parts manufacturer approval of the flight
shipset equipment. We use the platform for
demonstrations as well as testing, with less test
instrumentation and very much an interior that a
business jet passenger would see.
“The cabin has no modification other than for the
flight engineer, sitting in the seat opposite the door to
access our radio Ethernet interface, and baggage
compartment equipment for inflight monitoring/data
recording via laptop computer,” Brooks adds.
TESTING PARAMETERS
Chris Moore says SD’s GIV enables the company to:
“…rigorously assess and conduct the majority of a
validation before asking customers to undertake beta
testing. We employ beta-test customers when
appropriate, especially to add data points
to a validation process, but strive to do as
much as possible ourselves. It’s important
to note that we don’t operate the aircraft
under a trial/experimental certificate –
all the systems and hardware tested are
FAA Black Label approved or certified.”
SD’s own engineers frequently fly in
the GIV’s cabin alongside representatives
from the service providers, while Moore
notes there is often further support from
the ground, Inmarsat and Intelsat
working from their network operations
centers for example. Right now, the jet is
configured for Intelsat’s FlexExec system,
SD having worked alongside Gulfstream
on the wiring and installation process.
Detailed planning precedes every test,
whether it’s a single flight or the beginning
of a campaign – the GIV flew a global
validation tour for FlexExec, for example. Such is
SD’s confidence in the services it trials and in its own
products, that it uses the in-house SD Scheduler software
to plan aircraft use and crew/passenger schedules.
Complete test procedures and processes are created
in conjunction with the product management team and
engineers, the scope varying with the nature of a trial or
validation. For the FlexExec global test, Moore says, “…we
wanted to validate as many beams around the world as
possible, to ensure they were working properly with the
antenna and terminal system, providing adequate speed
and bandwidth, and enabling the expected usage,
including simultaneous streaming sessions.
“When we test value-added services, our router
software’s features among them, we may try several
configurations in multiple flights. Data is typically
received in real time and analyzed by the onboard test
team via laptop, and our product team on the ground.
We replicate configurations in our labs and network
operations center too.”
Honeywell’s JetWave campaign initially used the
757’s slower-speed L-band system to maintain a chat
window with the ground, enabling communication,
troubleshooting and reconfiguration, and even the
download of small files to the jet. But the trial actually
extended way beyond the 757’s antenna and associated
hardware. Duval says, “There’s a whole
infrastructure, ground stations and all the
terminals in between to be refined. The
first time we made a connection it lasted
for maybe a minute or so before we had 9-day
global tour using
SD’s GIV validated
FlexExec service
90
or more beams
per GX satellite
3 // Trials in SD’s GIV are
generally laptop-based
(Photo: SD)
4 // SD’s hard-working
Gulfstream IV (Photo: SD)
3
4
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