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Revolutionary Airshow 21 Debuts
Aboard Global 5000
The single most aggravating aspect of owning a business jet is inevitable malfunctioning of cabin equipment, according to James Hoblyn, Bombardier vp business aircraft. All too often, lights don't work, toilets don't flush and phones don't function. "We're going to remedy that situation once and for all," Hoblyn claimed Sunday at the official rollout of the Global 5000 with a full production interior.
Bombardier Aerospace officials should know. They were caught unprepared for the challenges associated with completing Global Express aircraft in 1999 and were on the receiving end of early operators' wrath regarding cabin equipment breakdowns, among other growing pains.
Airframe manufacturers spend hundreds of millions and several years perfecting green airframes. "Seldom, if ever, has our industry brought the same level of innovation to aircraft interiors," Hoblyn explained. With the Global 5000, in contrast, Bombardier Aerospace (Chalet C1-3) was determined not to repeat the same mistakes. Teaming with Rockwell Collins (Hall 4, Stand F13), Bombardier started early in the Global 5000 development program to develop a cabin with considerably increased reliability, redundancy and fault tolerance.
The result is Airshow 21, a revolutionary Cabin Electronic System (CES) from Rockwell Collins that will have avionics grade components and software. Airshow 21's hub-and-spoke architecture uses dual modular equipment cabinet (MEC) hubs that house power supply, moving-map and application component LRUs. The two MECs are mounted underfloor and linked by ethernet. Other equipment links to the MECs directly or indirectly by dual-channel, high-speed digital buses, not unlike Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics architecture. Failure or malfunction of any single component cannot crash or short out the system.
Rather than creating a base aircraft with a laundry list of options, Bombardier elected to include as standard aboard the Global 5000 most of the optional equipment on the Global Express, plus some new gear. The list includes a dual Inmarsat (three-channel)/Iridium (single-channel) satcom system, Swift64 datalink, dual-channel ethernet and dual file servers with firewall protection. Notably, Airshow 21 will host a standard, single-side electronic chart capability for the cockpit, presented on a stand-alone LCD monitor. A dual channel e-chart system will be offered as an option, meeting FAA requirements for Class III EFBs.
At least 80% of the equipment customers typically order, and only 20% is optional. The entire system is designed for growth. Structural, electrical and plumbing provisions will be installed for most popular options. This approach results in a standardized wiring harness for the cabin that can be installed on green aircraft during the manufacturing process. Plumbing and fittings for the freshwater and two-station vacuum lav also is installed during green manufacture, thereby cutting completion time.
All suppliers of cabin equipment and accessories sent components to Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids for exhaustive "iron bird" testing. The freshwater and toilet systems, for instance, have been tested for more than 15,000 cycles.
The Global 5000's standard cabin equipment includes Airshow moving-map, full network file server services for laptops, a network printer/fax, multi-channel CD/DVD player, large-format flat-panel displays on bulkheads and individual passenger displays, and provisions for carry-on CD players in each cabin zone. Options will include the Ku-band, high-speed satcom datalink aboard a purpose-built business jet, Airshow TV, audio/video on demand, a second CD player, multiple videocams and larger display monitors.
—Fred George
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