Aircraft GVT Advances and Application – Gulfstream G650

Abstract

Ground vibration testing (GVT), one of the critical tests which occur during aircraft development, is typically one of the last tests to take place prior to embarking on the flight test program, providing valuable information for the validation of the aeroelastic stability of the aircraft. Historically, the GVT is required by the aviation regulators in the certification process. This highly visible and time-constrained test has evolved over the years as new data collection tools, both hardware and software, have become available. The Gulfstream G650 aircraft serves as an example of how modern approaches have allowed this required test to provide highly evolved information much more efficiently and with improved confidence, dispelling the myth that testing has to be time-consuming, costly, and complicated in order to be considered a success.