Night vision lighting for Bell 412

The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has awarded United Rotorcraft Solutions (URS) and partner Ahlers Aerospace CAR 35 approval for their night vision lighting modifications on the Bell 412. In June 2009, David Brigham, president of URS, travelled to Australia to complete the night vision lighting modifications on two Bell 412’s for Australian Helicopters. With the night vision filters in hand over a two-week period, Brigham performed the modifications and worked with CASA to obtain their approval. He commented: “We worked with Australian Helicopters’ pilots and CASA to develop the new modification using the latest filter technology to create the best daylight readability in the industry. The new material not only provides better daylight readability, but it also makes identifying colour range marking easier than ever before in both day and night use. And there are no additional controls or switches with our system that add to the pilot’s work load.”
URS said the modification design reduces installation time and cost, with the external filters allowing the modified component to remain generic thus retaining the advantages of local repair and/or overhaul. The company added that URS and Ahlers were continuing their efforts to obtain FAA approval for the Bell 412 night vision lighting modifications.