Aircraft Ground Manoeuvring Solution

According to the 2018 ICAO Safety Report, 20% of all aircraft accidents involve ground manoeuvring, with over half of these involving aircraft on the ground. Large aircrafts (such as Boeing 747-8 for example), present situational awareness challenges to pilots manoeuvring on the ground where wingtips are not visible from the cockpit. In addition, many pilots have experienced difficulty in evaluating the position of the outer main landing gear when taxiing, with increased risk of the outer main gear running over the edge of the taxiway whilst conducting turning manoeuvres.

AD Aerospace offer a bespoke Aircraft Ground Manoeuvring Solution which provides the pilot with a clear view of the ‘Blind Spots’ which are presented directly to the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) for viewing. ‘Blind Spot’ visibility is achieved with two cameras: one camera fitted to the left, and one to the right tips of the horizontal stabilizer, for situational awareness.

A tail fin mounted camera provides real-time monitoring of the wingtips, while belly mounted cameras provide visibility of the landing gear, engines, ground conditions and proximity to the pavement edge – aiding manoeuvring during taxiing. Even with the absence of blind spots, this solution aims to make taxiing safer and easier for the pilot.

The system comprises the AD Aerospace FV-0610 Transmission Unit and FV-0315 External Camera with potential for upgrade to a HD-SDI camera.

The Graphical User Interface (GUI), which is installed on the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), allows for full control over camera inputs and visibility. The functionality included provides simultaneous viewing of the three situational awareness cameras utilizing a “stitched” image, which combines the outputs from the left and right horizontal stabilizer cameras into one single image. In turn, this provides wing tip to wing tip visibility to facilitate the risk reduction of external collision whilst manoeuvring on the ground.