Tucson, Arizona - Universal Avionics Systems Corporation has received Technical Standard Order (TSO-C113) authorization for their Vision-1 Synthetic Vision System. Hubert Naimer, Universal Avionics founder, President and CEO, claimed this to be the first terrain-database-based synthetic vision system to achieve certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The system provides the pilot with a synthetic 3-D view of his aircraft with respect to the flight plan and surrounding terrain. The perspective is as if from a camera situated behind, above and to the right of the aircraft. Overlay of the flight plan from Universal Avionics’ Flight Management System (FMS) along with deviation indicators, trend vectors and a compass symbol contribute in providing the pilot with a unique increased level of situational awareness.

The terrain database is stored in solid-state memory within the Vision-1 computer, which is housed in a remote-mounted, 2-MCU sized line replaceable unit (LRU) weighing only 9.7 pounds. The VGA video output is displayed on Universal Avionics’ MFD-640 Multi-Function Display. The terrain imagery utilizes topographical coloring similar to that used on aviation sectional charts. Hills and mountains appear in shades of green and brown while oceans and other large bodies of water are colored blue. Special shading on the digitized terrain and a grid overlay that conforms to the landscape on the synthetic world help the pilot get a sense of movement in flight, particularly when flying near the ground.

“Vision-1 is a practical extension of the computer processing, terrain database and display technologies available today, and represents a significant breakthrough in pilot situational awareness,” said Naimer. “We will continue efforts to expand this technology onto primary flight displays in the future.”