CSI writer needs help - Gulfstream V

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dshumaker

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dshumaker
Hi guys.
I'm the writers' assistant on CSI and one of the writers on the show is working on a script (for a new show) involving a scene that takes place on a Gulfstream V. He asked me to help get him some information, and I need technical help.

In the scene, the pilot puts the plane on autopilot and leaves the cockpit (with the door open) to go into the main cabin. While there, SOMETHING happens causing a problem with the plane. He wants to know if the autopilot will beep or an alarm will go off notifying him of the problem that would be able to be heard from another part of the plane. And under what conditions would that happen? Turbulence? Something much worse?

Any help would be very very much appreciated. AND if you would be interested in helping with any follow up questions he might have, please let me know. We might be able to get you some CSI swag out of it if you're a fan.
 
CSI swag? Sweet! I'll make something up and pass it along!


But seriously, you've come to a good place for that kind of info. Good luck!
 
I believe a GV would require a crew of 2 so yes the other crew member would make a sound when the autopilot went off
 
Not sure if we have any Gulfstream gurus on this board, but there are several over on http://www.airlinepilotforums.com . I'd post your question in the Technical section over there.
 
yeah i read somewhere that two pilots are required. i don't know the details of his story, but i'm assuming one is incapacitated. either that, or this guy isn't exactly piloting the plane the way he should.
 
thank you so much! i'll check it out.
 
A good friend is a Gulfstream captain. If you'll PM me your contact information, I will suggest he get in touch with you.
 
Two pilots are required, so if one leaves the cockpit, and the other one is awake - as he should be! - he should be able to recognize whatever failure or abnormal situation occurred and take corrective action. Most failures in a GV will be accompanied by both a visual "CAS message" - a colored message on a screen in the cockpit such as - for example - an amber L BLEED PRESS HI caution message, or a red AFT BAGG SMOKE warning message. These failures will also have an associated aural tone, sounds like a bong sound, meant to get the pilots attention. However, I doubt a pilot would hear the tone if he was more than a couple steps aft of the cockpit. Feel free to PM me if you have other questions. (Yes, I fly Gulfstreams.)
 
@mswmsw, seems odd they would be that quiet. I can hear my aural alerts in the Caravan when I'm standing in line at Starbucks in the terminal... Is the alert volume adjustable in the Gulfstream?
 
We have a number of bizjet (and some airline) pilots here, and I know of a couple who regularly fly G-Vs. The g-V will always be a two pilot bird.
 
dshumaker said:
yeah i read somewhere that two pilots are required. i don't know the details of his story, but i'm assuming one is incapacitated. either that, or this guy isn't exactly piloting the plane the way he should.
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It might help if you were ready to explain exactly what is needed for the plot... the pilot/pilots not noticing the autopilot is turned off, pilot/pilots incapacitated and a non-pilot hearing a warning that the autopilot is off, air traffic controllers hearing the alarm sound in the background during a radio transmission, etc. What do you need the plane to do to support the story you want to tell?

You certainly don't need to post those details here, publicly, but be ready with them once you get in contact with a Gulfstream specialist.

Keep in mind that the media folks at Gulfstream would probably be quite happy to help, and might be able to provide recordings of the actual alarm.

I'm anything but an expert on business jets (I fly a small open-cockpit plane) but let me take a stab at things. Generally, on this class of airplane, I think an alarm will sound briefly when the pilot disengages the autopilot (I believe this sort of warning is required on commercial airliners, ever since the DC-10 crashed in the Everglades). I don't believe that turbulence will deactivate the autopilot. Electrical system failure will shut it down, but that will also sound a number of alarms (it can also cause problems with the cabin lights, if you're looking for a dramatic effect).

If you're looking for a subtle loss of the autopilot (e.g., no warning produced), probably you want an electrical fault in the autopilot itself. However, I suspect there are enough safeties or backups to reduce the chance of not getting a warning.

Ron Wanttaja
 
Never seen the show.
Is it a comedy? If so, I'm in.

If not would they be willing to switch the genre?
 
I don't know if it works for your story, but one of the interesting things that late model Gulfstreams can do is save the crew and passengers from hypoxia.

Gulfstream V's can fly very high, as high as ten miles (51,000 feet). At that altitude the time of useful consciousness is about ten seconds. At most.

If a GV is flying along that high and something (a bullet through a window perhaps) causes sudden depressurization then everyone on the plane goes right to sleep. For this reason one pilot is supposed to wear an oxygen mask when flying really high like that.

Perhaps in this case it was the pilot wearing the mask who went into the cabin and the other pilot didn't think to put his mask on.

The GV will notice this loss of cabin pressure and will start making all kinds of alarms. If the crew does nothing (because they are asleep) then the GV will decide to take matters into it's own hands, err, wings.

The GV will set its radar transponder to emergency, turn 15 Degrees, lower its landing gear, reduce engine power to idle, and descend to 15,000 feet as fast as it can. It will then fly along waiting for a pilot to wake up.

Will the bad guy wake up first, or will the hero? You tell me. ;)
 
HighFlyingA380 said:
@mswmsw, seems odd they would be that quiet. I can hear my aural alerts in the Caravan when I'm standing in line at Starbucks in the terminal... Is the alert volume adjustable in the Gulfstream?
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Yes It is adjustable. But it is usually set for a comfortable aural tone level for the cockpit residents. Maybe it could be heard from outside the cockpit, for a certain distance "aft", I'm not really sure........ Only ever heard 'em from the cockpit!
 
JimNtexas said:
The GV will notice this loss of cabin pressure and will start making all kinds of alarms. If the crew does nothing (because they are asleep) then the GV will decide to take matters into it's own hands, err, wings.

The GV will set its radar transponder to emergency, turn 15 Degrees, lower its landing gear, reduce engine power to idle, and descend to 15,000 feet as fast as it can. It will then fly along waiting for a pilot to wake up.
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........ Well, not exactly. Amongst other things, the airplane does not turn 15 degrees off course, specifically, it turns 90 degrees off course to the left; and the gear does not lower. From the GV QRH, revision 33, page EH-4:

The autopilot has an automatic Emergency Descent Mode that is armed any time airplane altitude is greater than 40,000 feet with the autopilot selected
ON. When the red CABIN PRESSURE LOW message is displayed on CAS with the airplane above 40,000 feet and the autopilot ON, the following occurs:

1. Speed target on guidance panel changes to 340 KCAS in the manual mode.
3. The autopilot commands a left turn with a 90° heading change
4. The autothrottle (if engaged) retards power levers to idle.
5. The airplane descends at Mmo/Vmo to 15,000 feet.
6. At 15,000 feet, the speed target changes to 250 KCAS.
7. The autothrottle sets power to maintain 250 KCAS.
8. The pilot may override this mode by disconnecting the autopilot.
 
You Guys are generous. Supposed to get paid for offering technical advice for something like this. OP is getting lucky getting some free advising.
 
Corpsmaide said:
You Guys are generous. Supposed to get paid for offering technical advice for something like this. OP is getting lucky getting some free advising.
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WAY down inside, we are all whores, willing to be a star effer at whatever level we can, because media, like the half hour shows following most nightly network newscasts, tell us that there is nothing better than being famous because certain people find you entertaining.
 
No, they ran him off with their desire for authenticity...and one poster actually gave him a link to a real pilots website.

Then the bickering started.....

You were supposed to keep him engaged until hooked:D
Then maybe they do a spin on one of 6PCs stories with yours truly played by Michael Jai White :D
 
Jaybird180 said:
...and one poster actually gave him a link to a real pilots website.
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Yeah, because no one ever posts there falsely representing to be an airline pilot.
 
All alarms are in the cockpit, passengers are better off not knowing what's happening, don't want to cause a panic
 
Doesnt really matter what is said on here. Itll still be a gulfstream cabin and a lear 35 exterior like every other tv show.
 
ntbjounin said:
Doesnt really matter what is said on here. Itll still be a gulfstream cabin and a lear 35 exterior like every other tv show.
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:D :rofl:

They could have henning flying it with a bent wing and an engine out on needle-ball-airspeed flying an approach to below minimums......:rolleyes:
 
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ntbjounin said:
Doesnt really matter what is said on here. Itll still be a gulfstream cabin and a lear 35 exterior like every other tv show.
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Criminal Minds had Gulfstream marketing setup their set and uses Gulfstream marketing footage for their in flight scenes.
 
bartmc said:
Criminal Minds had Gulfstream marketing setup their set and uses Gulfstream marketing footage for their in flight scenes.
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Same studio, can use the same set, although GS probably doesn't want to see their plane showed at risk of crashing
 
mswmsw said:
........ Well, not exactly. Amongst other things, the airplane does not turn 15 degrees off course, specifically, it turns 90 degrees off course to the left; and the gear does not lower. From the GV QRH, revision 33, page EH-4:

The autopilot has an automatic Emergency Descent Mode that is armed any time ...
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Thanks for the correction, I think I had the Space Shuttle simulator G3 in mind when I said the gear went down. I think it will deploy speedbrakes if it decides to panic dive, is that correct?
 
True. When CSI went to series, we hired ex-CSIs to be on the writing staff. Unfortunately, a project has to get written, made and picked up to series before there is any money to throw around. At this stage in the process, the writer doesn't have those kinds of resources. -- So I'm very appreciative to you "star-effers". haha.
 
This isn't for CSI though. This is for a TV pilot being written by a CSI writer.
 
I can't think of CSI without being reminded of a Hallmark card that caused a little stir around these parts:
 

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RotorAndWing said:
The OP asked about a Gulfstream. Maybe you could walk by one in a hangar, then you could tell them everything they wanted to know about how it operates, cost, maintenance, etc..........:rolleyes:
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I can certianly find out anything he needs to know about one. I do have G650 time in the ole log book.

I walk by dozens of them everyday in the hangar :rolleyes:
 
JimNtexas said:
If a GV is flying along that high and something (a bullet through a window perhaps) causes sudden depressurization then everyone on the plane goes right to sleep.
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WHAT?!

Every TV watcher knows that if the cabin is breached in an airplane flying high, EVERYTHING starts blowing through that hole. You have to hold on real hard for dear life.
And this goes on for minutes, it never stabilizes.

I guess it wouldn't make for a good scene if as soon as a shot is fired everyone fell asleep and the plane just crashed.
 
dshumaker said:
yeah i read somewhere that two pilots are required. i don't know the details of his story, but i'm assuming one is incapacitated. either that, or this guy isn't exactly piloting the plane the way he should.
Click to expand...

Ah, more clues!
 
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