Thales announces it is designing and manufacturing advanced flight control solutions for the recently unveiled Gulfstream G500 and G600 aircraft programmes.
The G500 and G600’s innovative Thales-designed flight control computers are at the core of their Fly-by-Wire (FBW) systems. They will use the latest design evolution architecture, specifically developed to ensure superior performance and safety whilst reducing weight and therefore fuel consumption, optimising volume and dispatch rate. The flight computers will also interface with active control sidestick, thus making the controls more pilot-friendly.
The collaboration further consolidates the relationship between Thales and Gulfstream which has already seen the development of the highly integrated FBW flight controls on the G650 aircraft, which boasts the most sophisticated fully-FBW enabled system in the business jet industry, and to date still amongst the most reliable and high performing FBW systems in the world.
Thales flight control technology onboard G500 and G600
Thales’s FBW solution consists of two digital flight control computers (FCC) and one backup flight control unit (BFCU), which use the latest design evolution of quad-dual flight control computer architecture and modular packaging. This electronic system, which is the core of an aircraft’s FBW architecture, controls the primary and secondary flight surfaces of the aircraft. It ensures superior performance, which translates into better handling qualities, improved comfort for the passengers, enhanced safety, weight and volume optimisation, and an exceptional dispatch rate. Thales’s solution will also interface with active sidestick controllers, thus rendering the flight controls more pilotfriendly.
“Being chosen by Gulfstream to provide flight control computers for the G500/G600 shows the maturity of Thales’s products, and our commitment to provide on-schedule, innovative, superior quality solutions that yield high
value-added for our customers,” Michel Grenier, Thales Vice President in charge of aerospace activities in Canada.
About Thales
Thales is a global technology leader in the Aerospace, Transportation and Defence & Security markets. In 2013, the company generated revenues of €14.2 billion with 65,000 employees in 56 countries. With its 25,000
engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international
footprint, with operations around the world working with customers and local partners.
