Gulfstream Integrates Northstar System

Gulfstream Aerospace is seeking a supplemental type certificate for a new electronic device that brings true "paperless" cockpits one step closer to reality.

Northstar Technologies CT-1000 flight deck organizer system combines an approach plate database with a bright moving map display, replacing bulky approach plate binders with just two CD ROMs.

Tom Horne, lead Gulfstream test pilot for the Northstar program, says that unlike other "electronic flight bags," only the Northstar unit will be FAA certified and "cockpit compliant."

Test flights were conducted aboard a Gulfstream IV-SP, and an STC for that aircraft is expected in August. Gulfstream hopes to certify the unit for use on the GV later this year.
The CT-1000 is a small computer with a 6.4-inch (diagonal) display that attaches to the aircraft's control yoke in flight, and can be disconnected and used for desktop work when on the ground.

Outside the cockpit, the unit can use pre-flight planning software, access the Internet for E-mail and weather reports, and apply aircraft-specific weight and balance programs.
In flight, the CT-1000 displays approach plates and customized checklists, and will incorporate a moving map display. The system uses Jeppesen's Jepp View, a CD-ROM-based electronic chart service.

Once linked to its Global Positioning and Flight Management Systems, the unit will display an aircraft's position on the electronic approach plates, airport diagrams and the moving map.
Horne describes the CT-1000 as an "excellent, well-designed" system, but for now Gulfstream pilots are using an onboard laser printer to produce hard copies of approach plates as a backup.

The complete package, which includes two CT-1000s and all associated hardware, is expected to cost less than $50,000.

By Paul Richfield