Universal Avionics Debuts Flight Deck Concept

Universal Avionics (UA) introduced its new "Fly by Sight" flight deck concept this week at the 2019 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to UA, Fly by Sight will combine its ClearVision SkyLens Head Wearable Display and Interactive FMS (i-FMS) with the goal of reducing the pilot’s head-down time in high workload environments. The company says it will offer Fly By Sight as an add-on to existing cockpit systems, a retrofit package and as part of the company’s Insight ClearVision cockpit solution. 

“We believe the future of flying should be simplified, automated and more intuitive, utilizing new avionics technologies and systems,” said UA CEO Dror Yahav. “At NBAA, we are demonstrating how integration between the FMS and a wearable HUD like the SkyLens can greatly improve the way pilots fly—reducing workload while maintaining high efficiency and heightened situational awareness.”

Introduced at the at the 2019 Paris Air Show, i-FMS is a software-based flight management system that UA says “enables new concepts in Human-Machine Interface” such as projecting waypoints and information from the FMS onto UA’s head-up displays (HUD) and head-wearable displays. The system was designed to help pilots spend less time shifting their attention from outside the cockpit to the FMS during critical phases of flight.