The FAA has approved a supplemental type certificate (STC) for installation of the AerAware enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) with wearable head-up display (HUD) on the Boeing 737NG. The AerAware EFVS was developed through a partnership between HUD manufacturer Universal Avionics and AerSale, which led the STC program.
The STC includes Universal’s ClearVision EFVS with dual SkyLens head-wearable displays, capable of providing enhanced vision (infrared), synthetic vision, and combined vision system imagery. The displays are fed by Universal’s EVS-5000 multispectral camera, and a unique feature of the SkyLens system is that pilots can view imagery in any direction and aren’t restricted to the field of view of a fixed HUD.
The ClearVision STC in the 737NG “marks the world’s first EFVS to achieve a 50 percent reduction in minimum visibility requirements and the first aircraft to be certified with a complete dual-pilot EFVS solution featuring a wearable [HUD],” according to Universal.
“Certified for EFVS operations all the way to touchdown and rollout in low visibility conditions, ClearVision improves accessibility to most airports and increases approach capacity at congested airports, leading to fewer delays,” said Universal Avionics CEO Dror Yahav. “AerAware serves as the only commercially viable retrofit solution that substantially increases situational awareness during low visibility operations for thousands of 737NGs, including over one hundred Boeing Business Jets, reducing natural visibility requirements on approach and increasing safety.”