Both the FAA and EASA have approved Dassault’s Falcon 8X FalconEye combined vision system for operational credit for approaches down to 100 feet agl. The FalconEye head-up display (HUD) in the Falcon 2000LX and 900LX should receive the new enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) 100-foot operational approval by year-end, the company said.
FalconEye was first approved on the 2000LXS/S and 900LX in October 2016, followed by the 8X in early 2017. A dual HUD FalconEye system is under development, and this will allow certification under new EFVS rules for EVS-to-land capability, expected to be approved in 2020, according to Dassault. EVS-to-land means that pilots will be able to land solely by viewing EVS imagery through the HUD, without using natural vision to see the runway and its environment.
FalconEye is the first combined vision system to be approved in a business jet application. It displays both enhanced vision system (EVS) and synthetic vision system (SVS) on the HUD at the same time, with a pilot-adjustable split between the EVS and SVS imagery. The portion of the airport surrounding the runway, however, always is displayed inside an SVS runway clear zone or cutout so the close-in terrain, the approach lights, and the portion of the airport surrounding the runway always shows up in EVS.
Dassault tapped Elbit to provides the system’s EFVS camera and HUD. The uncooled EFVS camera, which is comprised of six separate sensors, captures both thermal (infrared) and low-light camera images, while the SVS displays synthetic, database-driven terrain mapping.