Universal Avionics announced this week that it has added repair services for Dassault’s FalconEye product line at its Part 145 Repair Station in Arizona. (Photo: Dassault/Universal Avionics)
Arizona-based Universal Avionics has added repair services for Dassault Aviation’s FalconEye Combined Vision System (CVS) at its Part 145 Repair Station in Tucson.
Universal CEO Dror Yahav told Avionics International that the company, a subsidiary of Ebit Systems, is deploying “very sophisticated” equipment to diagnose and fix problems with FalconEye systems and has the knowledge and facilities to repair the six-sensor camera-driven CVS, typically on a five-day timeframe.
One critical factor is to have the necessary equipment to recalibrate FalconEye systems before returning them to in-service operations, he explained: “We have six different images that in the end have been fused into one big image and … when you touch the camera [for repair purposes], the whole thing just goes out of balance. So, you need to make sure that all six sensors are aligned.”
It is not just repair work that will be performed, Yahav noted, pointing to regular upgrades needed. “The FalconEye continues to evolve and we have new software improving the camera, solving other issues,” he said. “We are getting units here that need to be upgraded, but also units that come here for a problem or malfunction. In any case, every unit that comes in needs to be fully calibrated all over again [before it is returned] because whenever we touch it, then we need to make sure that it’s fully calibrated.”
Yahav said the FalconEye CVS is a level up in technology compared to more traditional flight vision systems. “Our traditional cameras are one-sensor cameras,” he explained. “Because they are one-sensor cameras … you don’t really need to align it to anything. So, it’s much more complicated than the cameras we are currently maintaining.”
Pictured is the Dassault FalconEye Combined Vision System (CVS). (Photo: Dassault/Universal Avionics)
Universal said in a statement announcing FalconEye’s addition to its repair portfolio that the Dassault system “uses synthetic, database-driven terrain mapping with multi-sensor camera inputs to provide pilots with enhanced situational awareness through its heads-up display.”
According to Dassault, FalconEye displays a high-definition, synthetic 40-degree horizontal by 30-degree vertical field of view “with no tunnel vision effects.” The six sensors allow images to be produced from “near-visible and infrared spectrums,” Dassault said in a description on its website, noting that one of the six sensors “can detect LED runway lighting before our naked eyes are able to.”
Universal said its FalconEye repair capabilities give North American operators of Falcon family business jets “local and comprehensive support” for the CVS. Dassault reported it booked 64 net Falcon jet orders in 2022.