Control Vision Introduces Hand-Held Nexrad Weather for Private Aircraft.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

OSHKOSH, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 2001

Anywhere Wx(TM) Challenges Built-in Weather Reporting Systems

For All But the Largest Jets

Control Vision Corp., a leading Kansas aerospace company specializing in hand-held technology for General Aviation, introduced at Airventure 2001 a hand-held GPS navigation system for private aircraft that displays close to real-time weather compiled by national weather services.

The product, Anywhere Wx(TM), operates on a Pocket PC such as the Compaq iPaq(R) and is expected to compete directly with built-in radar systems traditionally installed in airliners and large executive aircraft. It addresses several key shortfalls in those systems. Airborne radar "sees" a narrow wedge directly in front of the aircraft. Resolution falls off quickly and prohibits the viewing of secondary weather systems. Anywhere Wx "sees" a high-resolution picture from the top down, offering the pilot a picture of what lies beyond the aircraft in high resolution at any distance.

Anywhere Wx delivers high-resolution snapshots from a national network of over 160 local radar and satellite stations, formatted to the altitude, position and heading of the airplane requesting the weather. Airborne radar's accuracy, in comparison, falls off in direct proportion to the distance from the aircraft. Anywhere Wx images are displayed directly over the products GPS moving map.

Control Vision's founder and chief architect, Jay Humbard, said, "The most critical variable pilots face is weather, but the price of airborne systems closes this option to most pilots. Anywhere Wx changes all this."

Vice President of Engineering, Greg Yotz added, "We decided from the outset not to recreate a weather station inside an airplane, but to show even richer information in a highly visible portable display."

Pilots typically receive a weather briefing prior to flight that advises them on expected conditions along their intended route. The briefing can come from an airport teleprinter or by phone from an FAA briefer. Pilots may fly with weather information that is hours old and not reflective of current conditions.

By providing pilots with current weather images at important points in a flight, Control Vision hopes to make current weather as available a resource as heading or altitude.

Control Vision, founded in 1981, is privately held and designs and manufactures aerospace products including flight simulators, navigation devices, laser calibration and video imaging systems.