Electronics & Connectivity - March 1, 2012 - 4

tech report
Honeywell-developed combined vision system aids in low-visibility landing
Both the U.S. FAA’s NextGen program and Europe’s Single European Sky Air Traffic Management (ATM) Research (SESAR) Joint Undertaking aim to increase air traffic efficiency through more optimal routing and fuel burn and emissions reduction, while increasing safety and capacity. A key to increasing capacity is to minimize the effect of weather on flight operations. For decades, air carriers have been looking for comprehensive solutions to low-visibility conditions to enhance operational capabilities independent of airport facilities. To incorporate the adFor instance, in 2007 Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 91.175 was revised to include a means to go below the authorized decision height (DH) or minimum decision altitude (MDA) using an enhanced flight vision system (EFVS). The instrument flight rules under 91.175 enable the pilot to use an electronic device to see the runway environment as compared to the traditional requirements that the pilots must see the runway out the window with the naked eye. The intended runway must be “distinctly visible and identifiable” to go below DH or MDA. Currently, the FAA has only certified aircraft installed with a HUD to meet these regulations. A study by a team of engineers from Honeywell provides evidence for an equivalency of performance of a head-down, primary flight display with synthetic vision (SV) and enhanced vision (EV)—a combined vision system (CVS)—to the performance with a HUD with IR imagery. If certified, the CVS would enable pilots flying with an aircraft equipped with a sensor but not equipped with a HUD to visually acquire the necessary cues to land in lower-visibility conditions. The Honeywell team began with a prototype version of the currently certified synthetic vision display. The prototype included enhancements in the orientation of the display and was shown to enhance the primary flight display (PFD) stability and reduce workload. Using a blended altitude solution with multiple sensor sources improved accuracy and fault tolerance and enabled enhanced runway approach symbology to be created. The team was tasked with the integration of the IR image with the synthetic vision display that was acceptable to pilots and facilitated their performance in the approach and landing phase of flight. After encouragSAE electronics+connectivity

Installation of Kollsman EVS II camera on the Cessna Citation Sovereign. vancing technology and capabilities, the FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) continue to update the aircraft and ground equipage requirements, pilot training, and procedures necessary to achieve lower minimums under instrument flight rules.

March 1, 2012

Electronics & Connectivity - March 1, 2012

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