|

FAA Certifies Enhanced Vision System on Boeing Business Jet

ATLANTA, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) Business Jets today announced that the Rockwell Collins Enhanced Vision System (EVS) was certified last week by the Federal Aviation Administration on a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), an Air National Guard C-40. The Rockwell Collins EVS is available to current and future BBJ operators as a post-production modification.

The EVS capability enhances situational awareness for pilots during approach, landing, taxi and takeoff by presenting an image of the external environment on the Head-up Guidance System (HGS) and head-down displays.

The system uses an infrared sensor to improve the pilots’ view of the runway in various conditions including bad weather. This aids pilots to avoid terrain and clearly identify the runway, including any obstructions, early in the approach. It also assists pilots with “black hole” approaches to airports not equipped with precision landing aids and with landing and maneuvering at unfamiliar airports.

“I had the pleasure of flying several of the flights during the EVS development flight-test program with the Air National Guard and the Rockwell Collins team. That experience gave me the chance to see the EVS advantages first hand,” said Steve Taylor, Boeing Business Jets president.

“Given the variety of destinations visited by most BBJ operators, the improved situational awareness that EVS provides can be a great advantage,” said Taylor.

“The truly collaborative effort between Rockwell Collins, Boeing, the Air National Guard and the entire development team has made EVS a reality for BBJ owners and operators who have been eagerly awaiting this capability,” said David Austin, senior director, HGS for Rockwell Collins.

Installation of the EVS system on BBJs requires that the airplanes receive an upgrade to the HGS 4000, a modified radome, and the infrared camera.

The EVS system will be demonstrated on the Air National Guard BBJ at DeKalb Peachtree Airport during the National Business Aviation Association convention, Oct. 19-22, 2010.

To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.

Similar Posts

  • | | | | | |

    Yakutia Boeing Skids off slick Runway

    What: Yakutia Boeing 737-86-N en route from Rimini Italy to Rostov Russia
    Where: Rostov Airport
    When: Dec 1, 2012
    Who: 120 aboard
    Why: The Yakutia flight was landing at Rostov Airport and skid off the runway when the pilot applied brakes.

    Passengers disembarked safely with no injuries.

    It took half an hour to tow the plane the ten yards back to the runway with a 20 ton truck.

    No injuries were reported. Passengers exited the plane via “ladder.” (Possibly a mistranslation!) The plane stopped on soft ground off the runway while it was raining.

    Video

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • | | | | | | | | |

    MH370: One Ping Does Not A Discovery Make. Or Does it?

    An underwater locator beacon (ULB) such as the one on the black boxes (CVR) Cockpit Voice Recorder and FDR (Flight Data Recorder) of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on 37.5 kHz for about 30 days at 4°C temperature. They run on lithium-ion batteries, and “mileage” may vary; 30 days is the minimum expectation. This is all relevant to today’s news because the Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01 which is one of the ships equipped with a pinger locator, has heard a ping in the South Indian Ocean.

    The particular frequency was selected because it is not one that occurs in nature.

    Although Malaysia Airlines told the public that “This battery is not replaceable,” the ULB batteries had been scheduled for battery replacement in 2012, but were not replaced by Dukane Seacom, the original equipment manufacturer of the beacons. (Dukane Seacom either replaces the entire pinger or installed new batteries.) If replacement was not performed by toe OEM or other parties, the actual ping time may be less than 30 days.

    One ping in an ocean does not a discovery make. The wreckage has not been located, nor the ping confirmed. But we can still hope this is a step in the right direction.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • |

    Press Release – FAA Accepts Final FTI Outage Review Panel Report


    For Immediate Release
    November 12, 2010

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today accepted the second and final report on the November 2009 telecommunications outage prepared by an independent review panel assigned to investigate the incident.

    FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt had asked the panel to examine the cause of the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) outage and to recommend strategies to reduce the potential for similar future outages. He also asked the panel to examine the FTI’s present and future architecture as it relates to emerging technology and future FAA systems.

    The FTI system operates 24 hours a day seven days a week and provides communication support for the National Airspace System. Harris Corporation operates and maintains the FTI for the FAA.

    Last April the FAA began carrying out the panel’s initial recommendations which included:

    • Developing new automated tools for making configuration changes to network devices
    • Increasing FTI workforce staffing during network maintenance
    • Developing an alternate means for the entry of flight plan information to limit the impact of telecommunications network failures on the flight plan entry system.
    • Creating two network enterprise management centers which give the FAA greater situational awareness of network activity and maintenance
    • Installing additional cybersecurity measures throughout the National Airspace System

    The final report on the FTI outage lays out 14 long-term strategic recommendations the FAA should pursue as it transitions to future network systems. The FAA has already begun evaluating and working through the recommendations which revolve around five areas:

    • Governance: the decision making process for FAA systems
    • Situational Awareness: FAA network monitoring and information sharing
    • Interoperability: data sharing between systems and stakeholders
    • Resilience: ability of a network to continue operating under a variety of conditions
    • Cyber Security: the ability to thwart, detect, and respond to any attempts to compromise the system.

    On the morning of Nov. 19, 2009 the FTI experienced an outage that resulted in system-wide delays. During the four-hour event, air traffic controllers managed flight plan data manually and safely according to FAA contingency plans. Air traffic control radar and communication were not affected during that time and critical safety systems remained up and running.

    The panel confirmed the FAA’s preliminary assessment that the November outage was caused by a series of errors in network maintenance and monitoring during a telecommunications upgrade.

    The panel is made up of the following participants: FAA Chief Information Officer David Bowen; Assistant to the President and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra; Department of Transportation Chief Information Officer Nitin Pradhan; Noblis CEO Amr Elsawy; former Director of Command, Control, Communications, and Computer Systems Vice Admiral (Ret) Nancy Brown; FAA Air Traffic Organization (ATO) CIO Steve Cooper; and FAA Assistant Chief Counsel for Acquisition and Commercial Law Patricia McNall.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • | | | |

    British Airways Flight Makes Emergency Landing at Heathrow Airport

    British Airways flight BA-233 had to return and make an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport, England, on August 6th.

    The Airways Boeing 787-900 plane took off for Moscow, Russia, but had to turn back due to a generator problem.

    The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • | | | |

    Malaysia Airlines Plane Bursts Tire on Landing in Jakarta

    A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane burst a tire on landing in Jakarta, Indonesia, on June 13th.

    The incident happened when flight MH-725 was coming from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    The plane became disabled on the runway and was towed to the apron.

    All passengers and crew members remained uninjured.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • | | |

    Copa Airlines Plane Suffers Hydraulic Leak After Landing In Nicaragua

    Copa Airlines flight CM-106 suffered a hydraulic leak on landing at Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Managua, Nicaragua, on March 23rd.

    The incident happened when the Boeing 737-700 plane was coming from Panama City, Panama.

    The plane became disabled on the runway. All one hundred and twenty-one passengers and six crew members remained unharmed.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.