SAS first with new Safety System
SAS first with new Safety System Head-Up Display Guidance System on all Boeing 737 SAS is the first European airline to install the Head-Up Display Guidance System (HUD) on all new Boeing 737 aircraft. The HUD system enables vital information to be projected onto a [special] glass sheet in the aircraft's windscreen, thereby increasing safety during takeoffs and touchdowns during conditions with poor visibility. Using the information displayed on the screen, the pilot can fly the aircraft manually in conditions down to 200 meters of visibility. The system will also be used in good weather conditions in order to provide the pilot with optimal information, in a natural manner, about the aircraft's position and power status. The pilot receives immediate data on the aircraft's movements at the same time as he/she continues to look forward through the cockpit windscreen. By combining HUD with the aircraft's autopilot, which is capable of flying the machine from takeoff to touchdown, SAS will be in a position to request reduced visibility minimums, with enhanced safety, during takeoffs and landings. HUD is a well-know technology within the defense aviation sector, but has been used only sparingly within commercial aviation. With the new generation of Boeing 737s, this trend has been broken. Half of all new aircraft on order are now being equipped with HUD systems. SAS will pioneer this development in Europe by using the system from takeoff to landing. The Rockwell Collins HGS-2350 system was approved by America's Federal Aviation Authorities (FAA) in August and by Sweden's Civil Aviation Administration in November 1999. SAS has installed the system on five Boeing 737s and the system will be installed on all 55 of SAS's Boeing 737s during the next three years. For further information, please contact: Captain Örjan Goteman, Operational Standards and Development, SAS. Telephone: +46 8-797 27 71 Mobile: +46 709-97 27 71 CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/20/19991220BIT00230/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/20/19991220BIT00230/bit0002.pdf