Gulfstream Aerospace has retrofitted over 100 aircraft with the Gulfstream Enhanced Vision System. By the end of last year, 43 G550 aircraft were delivered with EVS and it has been installed on six developmental aircraft used in the company’s G550 and G450 flight test programmes.

The system, developed in co-operation with Kollsman Inc, incorporates a forward-looking infrared camera that projects an infrared ‘real-world’ image on the pilot’s Honeywell HUD (heads-up display).

The system features a cryogenically cooled detector, which identifies runway lights during approach. The flight crew are then able to see runway markings and surrounding areas in conditions of limited visibility.

Early last year the FAA stated that pilots were allowed to use enhanced flight visibility systems to determine flight visibility, and by late 2004 Gulfstream received the “Excellence in Aviation Research” award from the FAA for its development of the Gulfstream EVS.