Boeing continues to add utility to its BBJ series corporate jets, and the latest effort is the addition of enhanced vision system (EVS) capability to the BBJ’s head-up display (HUD). To add safety to BBJ operations, however, Boeing is also working on delivering the EVS display on one of the Honeywell LCDs on the instrument panel, so the first officer can see the same EVS picture that the pilot sees on the HUD. “That’s a fairly significant safety element,” said Boeing Business Jets chief pilot Stephen Taylor.
Boeing is also working on certifying the EVS system so that operators can receive credit to descend below published minimums to 100 feet per FAR 91.175.
Boeing had flown EVS on a 737 technology demonstrator about a year ago, according to Taylor, but the infrared sensor was mounted low on the nose of the aircraft. “We found the parallax is quite significant if the sensor is below the pilots’ feet,” he said. The sensor mounting was changed and now it is installed in a small blister on top of the radome. This brought the sensor closer to eye level and eliminated the parallax problem.
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