IR Camera OK'd For Gulfstream Jet
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By Fred George
Gulfstream Aerospace announced July 1 that it had received a Supplemental Type Certificate from FAA for installation of its second-generation Enhanced Vision System infrared [IR] camera aboard its midsized G150 business jet. Developed in partnership with Kollsman Inc., the $340,000 EVS II package is available as a 40-pound forward-fit or retrofit package. The second-generation system features a cryogenically-cooled IR sensor that has four times the computing power and memory of the original EVS camera, plus it is more sensitive to IR energy emitted by incandescent runway lights, thus potentially increasing its useful range in low visibility conditions.
Aboard G150, EVS II forward-looking IR imagery is displayed head-down on the aircraft's 12 x 10-inch portrait configuration MFDs. The system can detect heat sources, such as pavement, incandescent lights, surface vehicles, animals and people and engine exhaust, thus enabling pilots to detect objects and hazards far beyond visual range in conditions of darkness or obscuration.
A head-up display option for G150 is not planned now and EVS II imagery is not displayed on the PFD, so it's unlikely that EVS II can be certified in the future as an Enhanced Flight Vision System that can be used in lieu of natural vision to meet the requirements of FAR 91.175 for descending below MDA or DH on an instrument approach in low visibility conditions.
Photo of Gulfstream G150: Gulfstream