Guernsey based airline Aurigny and turboprop manufacturer ATR have announced the signature of a Letter of Intent for the purchase of three ATR 72-600s, subject to the approval of the States of Guernsey. These three aircraft are expected to replace the current three ATR 72-500s operated by the airline.
These new ATR -600s will feature the new ClearVision™ Enhanced Vision System (EVS), which uses an external camera to display an augmented outside-view in real-time to a head-mounted visor, worn by the pilot. The EVS significantly improves a pilot’s vision and as Guernsey is situated in the English Channel it is regularly affected by fog, often at short notice, leading to disruptions to flight operations. An ATR equipped with the ClearVision™ EVS addresses this pain point of the pilot’s limited visibility and could have saved 50% of the forbidden landings (24 of 48) in Guernsey, over the period of a year. Aurigny anticipates that this innovation will deliver significant savings in their future operations.
ClearVision™ is an option on ATR’s latest avionics suite, Standard 3, which delivers important operational improvements. In addition to the EVS selected by Aurigny, ClearVision™ also offers a Synthetic Vision System (SVS) that provides the pilot’s Head-Up Display with digital images of terrain and obstacles, from an extensive database. Operators can also opt for a Combined Vision System (CVS), combining the EVS and SVS, and offering pilots the best possible vision and situational awareness.