Demand for Enhanced Vision System Remains Strong

Gulfstream Aerospace tells ANN that they have now retrofit 101 Gulfstream business aircraft with the Gulfstream Enhanced Vision System (EVS). By the end of last year, 43 large-cabin, ultra-long-range G550 aircraft have been delivered with EVS. Gulfstream also has installed EVS on a total of six developmental aircraft used in the company's G550 and G450 flight test programs.

Since the first EVS was installed on an in-service Air Force C-37A aircraft in May 2002, Gulfstream has installed another 60 in the large-cabin, ultra-long-range GV; 20 in the large-cabin, long-range GIV-SP; 16 in the large-cabin, long-range G400; and 4 in the large-cabin, mid-range G300 aircraft. "C-37A" is the Air Force designation for the ultra-long-range Gulfstream V business jet.

Early last year, the FAA validated the safety benefits of the Gulfstream EVS in a Part 91 rule change that allows pilots to use "enhanced flight visibility systems" to determine flight visibility. The landmark regulation acknowledges that certain enhanced vision systems are adequate for the pilot to "see" down to an altitude of 100 feet above the elevation of the runway's touchdown zone. Later in the year, the FAA bestowed to Gulfstream one of two 2004 "Excellence in Aviation Research" awards for the development of the Gulfstream EVS.

Like the G550, Gulfstream's newest large-cabin, long-range business jet, the long-range G450 also will include EVS as standard equipment when it begins customer deliveries in the second quarter of this year. EVS is available as optional equipment on new large-cabin, ultra-long-range G500 and large-cabin, mid-range G350 aircraft. EVS also is available as a retrofit on the large-cabin, long-range G400 and large-cabin, mid-range G300 aircraft.

Certified by the Federal Aviation Administration Sept. 14, 2001, Gulfstream EVS was developed in cooperation with Kollsman Inc. The system incorporates a specially designed forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera that projects an infrared real-world image on the pilot's Honeywell Head-Up Display (HUD). The Gulfstream EVS also is the only certified system that features a cryogenically cooled detector, which provides an unmatched level of sensitivity in identifying runway lights during approach. EVS, which addresses many of the issues raised in the FAA's Safer Skies Agenda, enables the flight crew to see runway markings, taxiways, adjacent roads and surrounding areas in conditions of limited visibility. The system also helps crews avoid runway incursion and hazards that would otherwise not be easily visible.

FMI: www.gulfstream.com, www.generaldynamics.com