Grob has selected an enhanced-vision system (EVS) from Kollsman for the new SPn Utility light business jet. Kollsman’s General Aviation Vision System (Gavis) will integrate with the airplane’s Honeywell Apex avionics system, providing pilots with a forward-looking infrared camera view that can be called up on the multifunction display in the lower center of the instrument panel.

Gavis is a smaller, lighter and less expensive EVS than the All Weather Window cryogenically cooled system Kollsman supplies for the larger Gulfstreams. Designed around an aerodynamic teardrop-shaped fairing, the Gavis camera system weighs less than four pounds and can be installed in a variety of locations on the airplane, including the top or bottom of the nose, the top of the fuselage or atop the tail.

In the Grob jet Gavis will be fitted in a special fairing centered on top of the nose. The camera has a 30-degree field of view, providing a realistic picture that corresponds quite closely to the real world. Kollsman is currently seeking approval for installation of Gavis in a Cessna Citation II the company owns, but the SPn is the first production jet to carry the system. Scheduled for FAA certification in late 2007, the airplane will include the optional Gavis system as part of its type certificate.