Enhanced Situational Awareness Through the Use of Weather Penetrating Sensors and an Imaging Head Up Display

Increased traffic in recent years coupled with expected further additions during the next decade highlights the need for continual increases in the level of safety for jet aircraft operations.

This paper describes a recently certified Enhanced Visual Guidance System (EVGS) that enables safer operation of the aircraft by increasing pilot’s situational awareness during the critical phases of flight.

It contains flight test images that graphically illustrate the power of the system to reduce the incidences of Controlled Flight Into Terrain and Approach and Landing Accidents, both for the certified sensors and others that show promise in the future.

Finally, it discusses the future path for development of such systems into a truly all weather role to achieve total terrain awareness.