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Gulfstream has developed its new G-V aircraft as the next generation in the Gulfstream product line. This all-new aircraft will have a range of 6,500 miles, allowing it to fly from New York to Tokyo nonstop. The aircraft has an overall wingspan of 93.47 feet, almost sixteen feet greater than its predecessor, the G-IV-SP, and is more than eight feet longer. The airplane was essentially built by computer using a concurrent engineering approach. An important part of the concurrent engineering technology was the modal testing which was conducted prior to first flight. This testing was necessary to confirm analysis predictions of the dynamic behavior of the aircraft assembly. As much of the aircraft assembly was being conducted “just-in-time,” the rapid acquisition and confirmation of test data were essential.

Single-point excitation techniques for conducting modal testing have gained wide acceptance in recent years. Improvements in minicomputer hardware and software have resulted in significant reductions in test time when coupled with single-point excitation. This has been achieved without sacrificing accuracy. This paper discusses the results of singlepoint excitation as used on space shuttle orbiter panels to determine their modal characteristics. Comparisons are made between modes for panels installed in the orbiter Enterprise and acoustic test specimens.