Cessna Plumps for Max-Viz EVS

Cessna has become the first manufacturer to announce the choice of the Max-Viz EVS-2000 enhanced vision system. The Portland, Ore., start-up will provide its EVS for Cessna's two largest airplanes, the Citation X and the new Sovereign. According to Cessna, the system will be available as an option next year on new aircraft, and will also be a retrofit option for the Citation X.

The Max-Viz EVS-2000 is the company's high-performance product, using two infrared sensors-long-wave and short-wave-and a high-speed image processor that fuses the two signals into a single image that shows objects, terrain and runway lights. It is designed for installation in the airplane's nose. The long-wave-only, tail-mounted EVS-1000 is already being installed on the Falcon 900EX and Challenger.

The Cessnas will display EVS-2000 imagery on a head-down display. Max-Viz says that a head-up display (HUD) is not a prerequisite for EVS, although competitors argue that a HUD is necessary for reduced-visibility landings using the infrared sensor. Announcing the EVS installation, Cessna says that the system "will provide greatly enhanced situational awareness, reducing the risk of runway incursion accidents" but does not mention any bad-weather landing benefits.