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How it Works: Enhanced Vision System

Typical EVS components include one or more infrared sensors, an image processor and a display device. Illustration by Tim Barker
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Enhanced Vision Systems (EVS) significantly improve pilot situational awareness in limited visibility by using infrared cameras to detect heat and create a real-time, black-and-white image of the world ahead.
  • These systems typically comprise infrared sensors, an image processor, and a cockpit display, often mounted in the aircraft's nose, capable of detecting minute temperature changes.
  • Modern EVS units often blend multiple sensor types, such as long-wave infrared (LWIR) and visible light sensors, to optimize performance in varying conditions like thick fog or cold, dark nights.
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If you’ve flown in reduced visibility or on a clear, moonless night and wondered what was ahead, you’re not alone. Pilots flying aircraft equipped with an enhanced vision system receive increased situational awareness information delivered to the cockpit in limited-visibility situations both day and night.

Rob Mark

Rob Mark is an award-winning journalist, business jet pilot, flight instructor, and blogger.

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