BERNIE DELVES
EVAS Worldwide picked up the Flight International Aerospace Industry Award for training and safety earlier in the week. A visit to the stand (Hall 5, B6) makes it clear why the company was singled out for this top honour.
Based on the use of a clear airbag, the FAA-certificated Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS) is designed to help pilots blinded by smoke in the cockpit during an in-flight emergency.
Cockpit
It enables them to see the flightpath and vital instruments and read approach documentation even if the cockpit is filled with dense smoke. It is lightweight and easy to install and suitable for use in all turbine and jet aircraft. In simulator tests pilots were able to land safely with a flight deck filled with smoke so thick they could not see their hands in front of their faces.
"With oxygen mask on, I was led to a seat in a flight-deck mock-up cockpit," she says. "At first everything was clear, but as more smoke was pumped in it became impossible to see at all. The only light visible came from a torch being shone through the windscreen from the outside."
Then EVAS came into play: "I looked into the EVAS, and although I couldn't see anything to my sides, I could see the panel very clearly - very impressive."
Says EVAS Worldwide VP Jonathan Parker: "It is a great achievement to have won the Flight International award. "Now we just want the system to be used across the board. Anyone who wants to experience it is very welcome at our stand."
EVAS is currently in service with a number of operators, including fast-growing low-cost carrier JetBlue.
Source: Flight Daily News
