Challenger Gets Night Eyes

Newly founded enhanced vision systems contender Max-Viz should be able to deliver its first certified EVS kits to customers later this year under a teaming arrangement with Total Aircraft Services of Van Nuys, Calif.

Installation of a Max-Viz EVS-1000 enhanced vision system aboard a Bombardier Challenger 601-3A has started at TAS (Booth 868). The firm says it's the first EVS retrofit installation to be developed under an STC apart from the Gulfstream V EVS. Certification is expected this fall, followed by delivery to the customer.

The installation is applicable to other Challengers, and potentially to the Bombardier CRJ regional jet family as well.

Production kits will be available as soon as the STC is issued, and TAS estimates that the installation will require only two days of aircraft downtime. "It's amazing how this system can turn night into day with great detail and clarity," says TAS general manager Scott Starkey.

The EVS-1000 sensor is installed in the tailfin cap of the Challenger, providing the pilot with a wide field of view both in the air and on the ground. The sensor is linked to a dedicated video-capable display in the cockpit. The EVS-1000 provides a 40-degree field of view, wider than any head-up display.

Max-Viz (Booth 3164) has already delivered an EVS-1000 to Dassault for installation on a Falcon 900EX. Founded just last year, Max-Viz has designed the EVS-1000 around an un-cooled infrared sensor developed by strategic partner FLIR Systems. Its primary role is to improve the pilot's ability to see ground vehicles, equipment and other aircraft during ground operations, but it is also available for low-altitude maneuvering and approach and landing.

With an un-cooled sensor and head-down display, the EVS-1000 is less costly to install than the Gulfstream EVS, and it does not offer the same level of performance. Max-Viz is developing the dual-band EVS-2000 as a higher-performance system for larger aircraft.