Hot Vision, Pick Your Price: $69,375 or $9995

Kollsman Commercial Aviation Systems arrived at Oshkosh with a forward-looking infra red (FLIR) camera poking out the top of a C-Model Mooney. The GAViS (General Aviation Vision System) lets pilots see through haze, smoke, light fog, mist, and night by seeing differential heat. This is a simpler version of their million-dollar, enhanced-vision system used on Gulfstream jets. “The main thing is night ops, night VFR ops,” said Exec Vice President Randy Moore. At $69,375 — and that’s the show special — you’ll pay a lot for that safety. Forward Vision just announced that the next 100 customers for its FLIR can get the entire system for $9995, and with extra features.

Forward Vision’s FLIR uses a different technology that Kollsman (a BST sensor vs. a microbolometer for the techno-geeks out there), which makes it immune to solar damage and doesn’t flicker as the Kollsman image does. Forward Vision also comes with a two-hour emergency power supply that could give you a visible horizon at night after a total power failure and input to put GPS-driven track and airspeed on the FLIR display. Both systems require 337 forms to install, but Kollsman has a clever antenna mount system that should make this a simpler process. Kollsman has 200 orders already for their system, which ships next year. The Forward Vision system is available today.