Enhanced vision system (EVS) developments gained a higher profile than ever before at NBAA with significant breakthroughs for CMC Electronics, Max-Viz and Thales Avionics.
Bombardier has chosen Thales to provide its EVS for the Global Express. The system, giving Bombardier a counterpart to the now-certificated Gulfstream/ Kollsman EVS on the Gulfstream 500 (GV) and the 550 (GV-SP), uses a Thales head-up-display (HUD) and a CMC dual-band infrared (IR) sensor.
The system will be flight tested on a Global Express in the first quarter of 2003, with initial deliveries in early 2005. The agreement with Bombardier also gives the Canadian manufacturer two years' exclusive access to later generations of CMC SureSight EVS sensors. "Beyond the current I-series we are making IR sensor focal plane arrays 30 times more sensitive [for the military] than those available for the commercial market," says CMC vice-president commercial aviation Bruce Bailey, "and as regulations unfold, it is our intent to bring these to the commercial market."
The SureSight I-series EVS sensor for the Thales programme is being further developed to include a higher resolution (640 x 512 pixel) focal plane array I-series High Res version, and a lower cost M-series version.
Max-Viz, the recently founded Portland-based EVS supplier, has been selected by Cessna to equip the Citation Sovereign and Citation X with its EVS-2000. The dual-sensor system enters production in March 2003 and will be forward-fitted on new Citations from the second quarter of 2003, with EVS-2000s also being offered for retrofit on existing Citation Xs. The Max-Viz sensor will initially provide improved situational awareness rather than landing credits while a suitable HUD is developed.
Source: Flight International