GDC Challenges Conventional Completions Wisdom With Technology

Completions specialist GDC Technics (Stand V01) recently rolled out an array of new technology developed in-house to provide more advanced options for outfitting and modifying private and business aircraft. The U.S.-based group has invested around $30 million in five areas of technology now being collectively leveraged as part of its new “Engineering the Impossible” strategy unveiled in November.

“We’re trying to challenge the conventional wisdom in designing VIP cabins,” said GDC general partner Mohammed Alzeer. “We deliver airplanes that look as good on the inside as they look on the outside and this means there have to be the latest and greatest technologies adding value to customers.”

By adopting new fabrication techniques and advanced materials, GDC says it is now producing cabin interiors that are around 20 percent lighter than those specified by the airframers themselves. “That can mean additional payload, fuel savings and more range for our customers,” said Alzeer.

For example, for a VIP Boeing 787, GDC believes it could reduce the overall weight of cabin interiors from just over 50,000 pounds to around 40,000 pounds. Among the techniques used are eliminating heavier metal pins and glues in favor or mortise and tenon joints, and also the use of carbon fiber panels weighing about two-thirds as much as earlier Nomex materials.

GDC also is now using 3D printing techniques to make lightweight, precision-crafted cabin interiors and inflight entertainment components, such as precision tuned speaker housings. Having invested in advanced 3D printing machinery, the company is using it to miniaturize certain items in pursuit of further incremental weight savings.

Another aspect to GDC’s innovation is the introduction of its “Sychronicity” 3D engineering software, which allows engineers in the groups various locations to work more collaboratively to reduce development times for projects, using the latest Catia V6 design software platform. “We have linked engineering to program management to more efficiently map out every aspect from design to implementation,” explained Alzeer. “We have to be completely synchronized for STCs.”

At the same time, 3D virtual reality interfaces are now allowing GDC’s designers to show clients exactly, to scale, how their preferences for cabin interiors will look in practice. This can accelerate the process for adjusting designs and ensure that the end product more closely matches the customer’s ideal outcome.

The use of Catia V6 3D has also helped GDC to reduce the margins it allows in developing cabin structures, resulting in less waste of materials. “The use of these systems also means that engineers and technicians in our various facilities can collaborate more quickly and effectively, minimizing the need for fit checks on the aircraft. This is helping us to beat our own schedules,” said Alzeer.

“We’re trying to eliminate the gaps [between client expectations and what can be delivered],” explained Alzeer. “This allows us to take the wishes of the aircraft owner and have the designer transform it into a 1:1 scaled three-dimensional image showing exactly how the cabin would look when finished. At that point it’s easier to refine the finished product so that it completely matches what the owner dreamed of.”

GDC’s efforts to apply higher technology to its completions projects also now benefits from the contribution of its new GDC Engineering subsidiary in Munich, Germany. The aircraft engineering specialist has been directly involved in design work for the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 aircraft.

The company, which has facilities in both San Antonio and Fort Worth, also is introducing new materials such as high definition film and hydrographic coatings that are a more environmentally friendly and less flammable alternative to wood veneers. These materials are also more easily repairable and can be more readily reproduced to allow designs to be easily changed.

Completions specialist GDC Technics (Stand V01) recently rolled out an array of new technology developed in-house to provide more advanced options for outfitting and modifying private and business aircraft. The U.S.-based group has invested around $30 million in five areas of technology now being collectively leveraged as part of its new “Engineering the Impossible” strategy unveiled in November.

“We’re trying to challenge the conventional wisdom in designing VIP cabins,” said GDC general partner Mohammed Alzeer. “We deliver airplanes that look as good on the inside as they look on the outside and this means there have to be the latest and greatest technologies adding value to customers.”

By adopting new fabrication techniques and advanced materials, GDC says it is now producing cabin interiors that are around 20 percent lighter than those specified by the airframers themselves. “That can mean additional payload, fuel savings and more range for our customers,” said Alzeer.

For example, for a VIP Boeing 787, GDC believes it could reduce the overall weight of cabin interiors from just over 50,000 pounds to around 40,000 pounds. Among the techniques used are eliminating heavier metal pins and glues in favor or mortise and tenon joints, and also the use of carbon fiber panels weighing about two-thirds as much as earlier Nomex materials.

GDC also is now using 3D printing techniques to make lightweight, precision-crafted cabin interiors and inflight entertainment components, such as precision tuned speaker housings. Having invested in advanced 3D printing machinery, the company is using it to miniaturize certain items in pursuit of further incremental weight savings.

Another aspect to GDC’s innovation is the introduction of its “Sychronicity” 3D engineering software, which allows engineers in the groups various locations to work more collaboratively to reduce development times for projects, using the latest Catia V6 design software platform. “We have linked engineering to program management to more efficiently map out every aspect from design to implementation,” explained Alzeer. “We have to be completely synchronized for STCs.”

At the same time, 3D virtual reality interfaces are now allowing GDC’s designers to show clients exactly, to scale, how their preferences for cabin interiors will look in practice. This can accelerate the process for adjusting designs and ensure that the end product more closely matches the customer’s ideal outcome.

The use of Catia V6 3D has also helped GDC to reduce the margins it allows in developing cabin structures, resulting in less waste of materials. “The use of these systems also means that engineers and technicians in our various facilities can collaborate more quickly and effectively, minimizing the need for fit checks on the aircraft. This is helping us to beat our own schedules,” said Alzeer.

“We’re trying to eliminate the gaps [between client expectations and what can be delivered],” explained Alzeer. “This allows us to take the wishes of the aircraft owner and have the designer transform it into a 1:1 scaled three-dimensional image showing exactly how the cabin would look when finished. At that point it’s easier to refine the finished product so that it completely matches what the owner dreamed of.”

GDC’s efforts to apply higher technology to its completions projects also now benefits from the contribution of its new GDC Engineering subsidiary in Munich, Germany. The aircraft engineering specialist has been directly involved in design work for the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 aircraft.

The company, which has facilities in both San Antonio and Fort Worth, also is introducing new materials such as high definition film and hydrographic coatings that are a more environmentally friendly and less flammable alternative to wood veneers. These materials are also more easily repairable and can be more readily reproduced to allow designs to be easily changed.