Safer Landings For Business Jets

Operators of Bombardier Global Express, Gulfstream IV and V, and Boeing Business Jets have the option of installing the BAE Systems Canada Enhanced Visual Guidance System, following its successful trial at Everett, WA, earlier this summer.

Weighing 22.5 lbs and externally distinguishable by only a small window in the nosecone, the $500,000 EVGS upgrade adds an infrared image to the existing VGS symbology so that pilots can also see an overlaid, head-up picture of the terrain ahead in low visibility situations. Certification is due next June, but a further enhancement will follow shortly thereafter when millimeter-wave imaging radar is added to provide a further aid to situational awareness.

EVGS contributes most to the landing approach, but it is of value during takeoff too, and while taxiing in fog, rain or darkness.