BALL AEROSPACE and Technologies has won a ten-year contract with Boeing to supply the 777-300 stretch with a ground-manoeuvring camera system.
The 74m-long 777-300 will be the longest commercial airliner to date, with a turning radius greater than that of the 747, which is 3m shorter.
"To help the flight crews see where the wheels are related to the pavement, we've added ground manoeuvre cameras on the horizontal stabilisers, which look forward to the main gear," says Boeing. Each camera will be faired into the leading edge of the stabiliser, about 0.3m outboard of a line running back from the main gear truck.
Another camera, housed in a fairing on the belly almost 7m aft of the nose leg, will look forward to cover the nose-gear. The television images will be projected in the cockpit on the main multi-function displays, which will be modified by Honeywell to show real-time colour pictures.
Colorado-based Ball says that other applications are also being studied for the camera system, including in-flight entertainment and security.
Source: Flight International
