Israel's Elbit Systems and the U.S. FAA today announced a study on the use of enhanced flight vision systems (EFVS) in helicopters, with the goal of eventually making the technology commercially available. EFVS rules currently exist for approaches to runways at airports, but comparable regulations for EFVS do not exist for helicopters flying to onshore or offshore helipads/heliports. The unique aspects of helicopter flight and the visual cues generated require additional considerations beyond the typical head-up displays used today in fixed-wing aircraft, Elbit noted.
As part of the study, Elbit is installing the Heli-ClearVision EFVS in the FAA’s Sikorsky S-76. The system includes the Skylens/SkyVis head-worn display, the HeliEVS, synthetic vision system and a combined vision system.
The study will consist of several flights in different visibility conditions, times of day (day, night and twilight) and approaches (including Lnav and LPV) to assess operational concepts and sensor characterization criteria for maintaining visual references/cues during the visual segments of instrument approach procedures and enhancing VFR operations. Results of the study will be used to evaluate the overall contribution of EFVS technology to flight safety and operational effectiveness for helicopters.