A CMC Electronics SureSight M-Series infrared enhanced-vision system (EVS) sensor has been installed on an AgustaWestland AW139 for a corporate customer by Edwards & Associates, a subsidiary of Bell Helicopter. The avionics installation specialist expects to receive the FAA STC for the installation soon.

Cathy Bain, CMC v-p of marketing and sales, said the EVS sensor gives pilots a daytime-like image at night and in certain low-visibility conditions such as haze. She called it a “cost-effective safety tool” for helicopter crews flying in darkness, smoke, smog or other poor visibility conditions.

EVS offers supplemental terrain awareness to prevent pilot disorientation when there is no peripheral scene information available, and is used for avoidance of obstacles such as towers, trees, vehicles and buildings. The M-Series sensor, on display at Booth No. 5003, weighs 2.2 pounds and measures 2.4 by 2.5 by 6 inches. It is the first uncooled IR sensor from CMC, which has also provided a range of larger, more expensive cryogenically cooled EVS camera systems for civil and military applications.