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[Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>]

But I would feel a lot safer if there were backup flight instruments, 
and pilots proficient in usig them--electronics  are not fail-safe.


News release banner
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Elvia Thompson
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1696)

Kathy Barnstorff
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
(Office: 757/864-9886/Cellular: 757/344-8511)

RELEASE: 04-063


        


September 30, 2004

*NASA TECHNOLOGY MEANS NO MORE FLYING BLIND*

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.

Quicktime video (.mov), 6.5MB
The FREE Quicktime software is available from Apple 
<http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/>

NASA aeronautics researchers at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., 
tested this Synthetic Vision Systems technology on a Gulfstream GV 
business jet this summer in the skies over Reno, Nevada and over the 
NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.

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

During the flight tests, NASA evaluated an integrated version of the 
technology. It included a birds' eye view of topography, a 
voice-recognition system, advanced sensors and Database Integrity 
Monitoring Equipment that insures accuracy by using sensors to compare 
the real world to the pictures being generated. Added to this was a 
Runway Incursion Prevention System, which includes an airport moving map 
and software that predicts possible encroaching runway traffic and 
alerts the crew.

NASA will use the results of the flight test to advance the development 
of technology to help reduce the fatal aircraft accident rate under its 
NASA Aviation Safety and Security Program. Synthetic Vision Systems 
could help eliminate the world's deadliest aviation accidents, called 
Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT). A CFIT accident is where a 
normally functioning aircraft slams into the ground, water or an 
obstacle, either because the pilot wasn't aware the plane was headed in 
the wrong direction, or due to bad weather or a combination of factors.

"NASA has already tested the individual technologies of Synthetic Vision 
and Runway Incursion Prevention Systems on board a NASA 757 aircraft," 
said Randy Bailey, Synthetic Vision principle 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."

Other flight test partners include the U.S. Air Force Research 
Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB; 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, the 
Air Force, the Joint Aviation Authority, the aerospace industry and 
major airlines flew the GV over 67 hours in 22 flights to collect data. 
A Gulfstream pilot was pilot-in-command.

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 
the computer-generated information on the displays. The information was 
shown on head-down displays mounted into the plane's instrument panel as 
well as a head-up display that superimposes terrain and guidance 
information onto a screen located 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."

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

For more on the NASA Aviation Safety and Security Program on the Web 
please visit:

*http://avsp.larc.nasa.gov* <http://avsp.larc.nasa.gov/>

For more information about the programs of NASA's Aeronautics Research 
Mission Directorate, visit

*http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov* <http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/>

-end-