Imagine a world where pilots see clear skies all the
time. It’s not some weather fantasyland, but a revolutionary
cockpit display technology called Synthetic Vision. NASA is
developing it to make flying safer.

NASA aeronautics researchers from Langley Research Center in
Hampton, Va., tested the Synthetic Vision Systems technology
this summer. They tested the system aboard a Gulfstream GV
business jet in air space around Reno, Nev., and NASA’s
Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.

The system gives pilots a clear electronic 3-D perspective of
what’s outside, no matter what the weather or time of day. It
combines Global Positioning System satellite signals with an
onboard photo-realistic database to paint a terrain picture
for the crew.

During the flight tests, NASA evaluated an integrated version
of the technology. It included a bird’s eye view of
topography, voice-recognition system and advanced sensors.
Also included was Database Integrity Monitoring Equipment
that ensures accuracy by using sensors to compare the real
world to generated pictures. Added to this was a Runway
Incursion Prevention System, which included an airport moving
map. It also had software that can predict possible
encroaching runway traffic, while alerting the crew.

NASA will use the results of the flight test to advance the
development of technology to help reduce fatal aircraft
accident rates. Synthetic Vision Systems could help eliminate
the world’s deadliest aviation accidents, called Controlled
Flight Into Terrain (CFIT). In CFIT accidents, a normally
functioning aircraft crashes, because the pilot wasn’t aware
the plane was headed in the wrong direction, due to bad
weather or a combination of factors.

“NASA has already tested the individual technologies of
Synthetic Vision and Runway Incursion Prevention Systems
onboard a NASA 757 jet aircraft,” said Randy Bailey,
Synthetic Vision principal investigator. “We were excited to
see it fly as an integrated system on the Gulfstream. We were
particularly excited to be partnered with Gulfstream, which
has been an industry innovator in aviation technology,” he
said.

Other flight test partners included the U.S. Air Force
Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base;
Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Jeppesen, Englewood,
Colo.; Rannoch Corp., Alexandria, Va.; The Boeing Company,
Huntington Beach, Calif.; RTI International, Research
Triangle Park, N.C.; and Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.

Seventeen pilots selected from the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), U.S. Air Force, the Joint Aviation
Authority, aerospace industry and major airlines flew the GV
more than 67 hours in 22 flights to collect data. Gulfstream
provided command pilots.

During the flight evaluations, the test pilots’ windshield
was often intentionally covered or flights were conducted at
night. The process simulated low visibility conditions, so
the pilot would have to rely on computer-generated instrument
displays. The information included a head-down display
mounted in the instrument panel and a head-up display to
superimpose terrain and guidance information onto a screen in
front of the pilot’s eyes.

A number of airline pilots have already flown components of
the Synthetic Vision System in simulators and a NASA 757
research jet. “I think it’s awesome,” said United Airlines
767 Captain Rick Shay of the technology. “To explain the
difference in the situational awareness that you gain, it’s
just a complete leap from the technology that’s there today,”
he added.

The NASA Aviation Safety and Security Program is part of
NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. It is also a
partnership with the FAA, aircraft manufacturers, airlines
and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The program’s
goal is to help reduce the fatal aircraft accident rate and
protect air travelers and the public from security threats.

For information about NASA’s Aviation Safety and Security
Program, on the Web visit:
http://avsp.larc.nasa.gov

For information about NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission
Directorate, visit:
http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov