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Dassault Aviation

Falcon 2000 EASy

Avionics Systems

Safety

Press Release

Issued by Dassault Aviation.

May 23, 2016

Dassault Combined Vision System nears certification on Falcon 2000S/LXS

Dassault's revolutionary Combined Vision System is approaching certification on the Falcon 2000S and LXS twinjet aircraft.

The CVS, known as FalconEye, is the first head up display (HUD) system to blend synthetic, database-driven terrain mapping and actual thermal and low-light camera images into a single view, providing an unprecedented level of situational awareness to flight crews in all conditions of operation day and night.

The system is equipped with a fourth-generation multi sensor camera that generates very high definition images close to those on a military FLIR. In synthetic vision system (SVS) mode, the camera displays a 30 x 40 degree field of view, one of the widest angles on any HUD, ensuring full coverage of the viewing area with no tunnel vision effects. And the system's modular architecture will make it easy to add on future capabilities, like EVS to land.

“As a former military pilot I was struck by the exceptional image quality on FalconEye, comparable to that of the sophisticated HUDs that equip advanced combat aircraft,” said test pilot Philippe Rebourg, who led the development campaign. “The system interacts very nicely with Dassault's EASy interactive cockpit and is simple to adapt to, bringing a real benefit to the pilot's perception of his surrounding environment.”

First shown in public at the 2015 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas, Nevada, FalconEye has completed an exhaustive two-year test and development campaign. It included more than 250 approaches intended to prove the system's combined SVS/EVS capability in all types of operating environments, including fog, mist, snow and other severe weather conditions, plus a round of simulator tests.

FalconEye is due to be qualified on the Falcon 2000S and 2000LXS twin jets by mid-year and on the new Falcon 8X ultra-long range trijet in the third quarter. Nearly four out of five Falcon 8X customers have signed up for the system.

On the 8X, FalconEye will eventually be made available in both single and dual HUD configuration, another Dassault innovation that is ultimately expected to become the new industry standard. By providing the same information and views heads-up to both the flying and non-flying pilot, the Dual HUD system will improve crew coordination and will also facilitate pilot training. Falcon 8X Dual HUD approval is anticipated in late 2017.

Dassault has long been a forerunner in the development of modern HUD systems.

The first HUD in operational use was installed on Dassault's Mirage IIIB fighter. The Mirage IIIB HUD paved the way for a long line of design improvements down to the advanced units on today's Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter aircraft.

In the early 1970s, the Dassault Mercure, a 150 seat short/medium-range airliner, was the first civil aircraft to be fitted with a HUD. Associated with a 'fail passive' auto-pilot, it allowed approaches in very low visibility conditions that had previously been off limits to civilian pilots.

In 1993, Dassault introduced the first business jet equipped with a head-up guidance system. This HUD, installed, like FalconEye, on a Falcon 2000, featured the same standardized symbols we're familiar with today.

With the introduction of the EASy Flight Deck a few years later came the first business jet with a harmonized head-up and head-down, path-based flight director display. Dassault is still the only business jet manufacturer to offer such a HUD, which permits hand-flown approaches down to CAT III conditions.