Avionics Giants Pursue Synthetic Vision For Credit

Having gained a foothold in the flightdecks of high-end business jets, synthetic-vision displays are moving down-range to light jets and turboprops, and preparing to step across to the military arena. Eventually the commercial airline market will follow. Meanwhile, the ability to generate flight displays from onboard databases is acting as a springboard for new cockpit capabilities. Replacing the traditional artificial horizon with a computer-generated three-dimensional view of the outside world has improved pilots' situational awareness. Now developers want to exploit the “always daylight” environment of synthetic vision to enable lower-visibility landings at a wider range of airports ...