Astronics Corporation, through its
wholly-owned subsidiary Astronics Max-Viz, has certified its 2300 Enhanced
Vision System (EVS) to the DO-160G standard.
Blending infrared and visible light sensors,
the Max-Viz 2300 EVS displays real-time heat sources along with LED airport
lighting to make it safer for pilots to land in dark, challenging conditions.
"With the airport lighting environment
converting over to low-heat LEDs, many thermal imagers can no longer detect the
runway lights," explained Astronics Max-Viz Sales Manager
Grant Sumpter.
"The Max-Viz 2300, however, with our blended thermal and visible light image,
does "see" the lights, and can provide detailed information about the terrain to
pilots in all kinds of weather and flight conditions. With the new certification
to DO-160G, dedicated customer support and a 24-month warranty, we're pleased to
bring this next level EVS safety to the market."
The Max-Viz 2300 provides pilots with an
unprecedented level of situational awareness and safety by enabling them to see
more precisely during day or night in adverse weather conditions, such as haze,
smoke, smog and light fog, even in the darkest night. At night, pilots can
also see and avoid clouds for a smoother ride. Upon landing, pilots using the
Max-Viz 2300 can view the runway and terrain clearly to avoid wildlife and unlit
obstructions.
This advanced EVS is a lightweight,
affordable, multi-spectral imager that blends the separate signal from a long
wave infrared sensor with a visible light sensor to present pilots with a
single, sharp, real-time image. The blended thermal image is black and white,
but a separate color HD-compatible signal from the visible light camera is
available for routing to a cabin entertainment system for a complete color
display.
The Max-Viz 2300 system is now certified to
Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) DO-160G standards, which is
the industry standard for the environmental testing of avionics hardware and is
recognized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as the de
facto international standard ISO-7137.
Astronics' Max-Viz 2300 EVS standard image
format (blended infrared and visible light) allows for future integration with
Synthetic Vision System (SVS) images to create a Combined Vision System (CVS),
the emerging strategy in visibility technology for future aircraft. The CVS will
provide pilots with greater assurance that transient obstacles and/or missing
data in the Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) database will be
detected.
Compatible with leading multi-functional
displays (MFDs) and electronic flight bags (EFBs), the sensor image presents on
any display that accepts composite video (RS-170) NTSC or PAL signals. The
system meets or exceeds RTCA DO-160G standards, including resistance to
temperature, altitude, humidity, shock, vibration, water, sand and dust, fungus,
magnetic effect, power spikes, audio and radio frequencies, lightening, icing
and flammability.
With more than 40 Supplemental and Type
Certificates in fixed and rotor wing aircraft, Astronics Max-Viz offers products
built on more than 15 years of success in enhanced vision systems. The newly
certified Astronics Max-Viz 2300 is available for installation on aircraft now.
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