Module 3

Cockpit Displays

Civil and Military Cockpit

Mohamed Sameer T K Dept. of Aeronautical JCET
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Cockpit Displays
The

cockpit display system provides visual presentation of the information and data from the aircraft sensors and systems to enable the pilot to fly the aircraft safely and carry out the mission.

For Civil or Military

Primary flight information Navigation Information

Engine Data
Airframe Data Warning Information
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Cockpit Displays
For Military
Infra red imaging sensors
Radar

Tactical mission data Weapon aiming

Threat warning

The information must be displayed in a way which can be readily assimilated, and unnecessary information must be eliminated to ease the pilots task in high workload situations.
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Cockpit Displays
Head up Display (HUD)

Helmet Mounted Display (HMD)

Head down Display (HDD) Multi-function Display (MFD)

Head Up Display (HUD)

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Head Up Display
HUD uses high brightness CRT HUD projects some of the information normally on

the primary flight displays and selected systems or weapons data into the LOS of the pilot without substantially dimming or obscuring the outer view
HUD allows the pilot to simultaneously see critical

aircraft information while viewing the outside scene

HUD
Every HUD contains

Display generator Combiner

In current HUD

Display Generator CRT with P43 (Green) phosphor Combiner mirror with several unusual properties: Reflective coating Highly wavelength selective in angle of incidence so that only that light which impinging within a very narrow range of angles will be reflected
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HUD
High performance aircraft HUDs use one of two basic designs for the combiner

Single element combiner HUD Three element combiner HUD

Single-Element Combiner HUD

Single-Element Combiner HUD

Combiner glass is effectively a see through mirror with a

high optical transmission efficiency so that there is little loss of visibility looking through the combiner and widescreen.
It optically combines the collimated display symbology

with the outside world scene viewed through it

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Single-Element Combiner HUD

The display symbology generated from the aircraft

sensors and systems is displayed on the surface of a CRT. The display images are then relayed through a relay lens system which magnifies the display and corrects for some of the optical errors
The relayed display images are then reflected through

an angle of nearly 90 degree by the fold mirror and then to the collimating lens, which are then reflected from the combiner glass into the pilots forward field of view.
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Single-Element Combiner HUD

Simplest design of the two methods Transmission of outside scene is higher Less advantageous than three-element combiner

HUD
Transport aircraft uses this method

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Three-Element Combiner HUD

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Three-Element Combiner HUD

Used on high-performance aircraft to achieve better

producibility
This design has achieved 30o horizontal and 20o

vertical field of view

All three elements contains gelatinous combiners as

the middle layer, but only the forward element is curved to collimate the image from the CRT

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HUD
Only essential information is displayed through HUD

and in instantly recognizable form.

The symbology is carefully chosen to present the

maximum amount of information with the minimum amount of symbology and consequent obscuration of the outside scene

Practical problem : HUD occupies large volume and the necessity to be mounted in the cockpit with the combiner in LOS to the pilot
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HUD
On high performance aircraft, HUD is mounted at the

top of and behind the instrument panel so that the combiner is between the top of the panel and the canopy in the pilots LOS when looking straight ahead
For civil transport, HUD is mounted above the seat of

each cockpit crew member, and the combiner is hinged to swing down into the LOS when HUD is in use, generally only during approach and landing
Single element combiner can be used as an

alternative for civil transport

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HUD Electronics

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HUD Electronics
The system may also be configured as two units, namely the Display Unit and the Electronics Unit.
The Display Unit contains the HUD optical assembly,

CRT, display drive electronics, high and low voltage power supplies.
The

Electronics Unit carries out the display processing, symbol generation and interfacing to the aircraft systems.
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HUD-Design factors
Field of View (FOV)

Collimation
Eyebox Luminance/contrast

Boresight Scaling
Compatibility

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HUD- Field of View (FOV)

A very important parameter with any HUD is the Field

of View (FOV)

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HUD- FOV

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HUD- FOV
Total FOV (TFOV) The maximum angular extent

over which symbology from the image source can be viewed by the pilot with either eye allowing vertical and horizontal head movement within the HUD eyebox.
Instantaneous FOV (IFOV) The union of the two

solid angles subtended at each eye by the clear apertures of the HUD optics from a fixed head position within the HUD eyebox. Thus, the instantaneous FOV is comprised of what the left eye sees plus what the right eye sees from a fixed head 22 position within the HUD eyebox.

HUD- FOV
Binocular

overlapping FOV The binocular overlapping FOV is the intersection of the two solid angles subtended at each eye by the clear apertures of the HUD optics from a fixed head position within the HUD eyebox. The binocular overlapping FOV thus defines the maximum angular extent of the HUD display that is visible to both eyes simultaneously.

Monocular FOV The solid angle subtended at the

eye by the clear apertures of the HUD optics from a fixed eye position. Note that the monocular FOV size and shape may change as a function of eye position 23 within the HUD eyebox.

HUD- Collimation
The projected image is collimated which makes the

light rays parallel. Because the light rays are parallel the lens of the human eye focuses on infinity to get a clear image.

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HUD- Eyebox
The optical collimator produces a cylinder of parallel

light so the display can only be viewed while the viewer's eyes are somewhere within that cylinder, a three-dimensional area called the head motion box or eyebox. Modern HUD eyeboxes are usually about 5 lateral by 3 vertical by 6 longitudinal inches. This allows the viewer some freedom of head movement but movement too far up/down left/right will cause the display to vanish off the edge of the collimator.
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HUD- Luminance/contrast
Displays have adjustments in luminance and contrast

to account for ambient lighting, which can vary widely (e.g., from the glare of bright clouds to moonless night approaches to minimally lit fields)

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HUD- Boresight
Aircraft HUD components are very accurately aligned

with the aircraft's three axes a process called boresighting so that displayed data conforms to reality typically with an accuracy of 7.0 milliradians).
This allows the display to show the pilot exactly

where the artificial horizon is, as well as the aircraft's projected path with great accuracy.

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HUD- Scaling
The displayed image (flight path, pitch and yaw

scaling, etc.), are scaled to present to the pilot a picture that overlays the outside world in an exact 1:1 relationship.
For example, objects (such as a runway threshold)

that are 3 degrees below the horizon as viewed from the cockpit must appear at the 3 degree index on the HUD display.

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HUD- Compatibility
HUD components are designed to be compatible with

other avionics, displays, etc.

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HUD
HUDs are now being installed in civil aircraft for reasons such as: Inherent advantages of head-up presentation of primary flight information including depiction of the aircrafts flight path vector, resulting in improved situational awareness and increased safety in circumstances such as wind shear or terrain/traffic avoidance maneuvers. To display automatic landing guidance to enable the pilot to land the aircraft safely in conditions of very low visibility due to fog, as a back up and monitor for the automatic landing system. The display of taxi-way 30 guidance is also being considered.

HUD
Enhanced vision using a raster mode HUD to project

a FLIR video picture of the outside world from a FLIR sensor installed in the aircraft, or, a synthetic picture of the outside world generated from a forward looking mill metric radar sensor in the aircrafts.

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Typical Commercial Transport HUD

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HUD

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HUD

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Helmet Mounted Display (HMD)

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Helmet Mounted Display (HMD)

If the pilot requires visual information head up when

he is looking in any direction and this requirement can only be met by a helmet mounted display (HMD).
In its simplest form the HMD can comprise a simple

helmet mounted sighting system which displays a collimated aiming cross or circle and some simple alphanumeric information, with a typical FOV of around 5.
An addressable LED matrix array is generally used

as the display source, enabling a very light weight 36 and compact HMD to be achieved.

HMD
HMD High brightness Excellent Resolution Lightweight Small size Monochrome HMD is advantageous over HUD Critical aircraft & stores information in in pilots LOS at all times, not just when he is looking straight ahead

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HMD- Normal Helmet Functions

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HMD- System Components

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HMD-Helmet Design Factors

To protect the pilots head and eyes from injury when

ejecting at high airspeeds. For example, the visor must stay securely locked in the down position when subjected to the blast pressure experienced at indicated airspeeds of 650 knots. The helmet must also function as a crash helmet and protect the pilots head as much as possible in a crash landing.
To interface with the oxygen mask attached to the

helmet. Combat aircraft use a special pressurized breathing system for high g maneuvering.
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HMD-Helmet Design Factors

To provide the pilot with an aural and speech interface

with the communication radio equipment. The helmet incorporates a pair of headphones which are coupled to the outputs of the appropriate communications channel selected by the pilot. In addition to the clear protective visor, the helmet must also incorporate a dark visor to attenuate the glare from bright sunlight. The helmet must also be compatible with NBC (nuclearbiologicalchemical) protective clothing and enable an NBC mask to be worn.
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HMD
Optical design
The purpose of the optics in an HMD is threefold:
Collimate the image source Produce a virtual

image that appears to be farther away than just a few inches from the face. Magnify the image source Make the imagery appear larger than the actual size of the image source. Relay the image source Create the virtual image away from the image source and away from the front of the face. 42

Helmet Mounted Sights (HMS)

A helmet mounted sight (HMS) in conjunction with a

head tracker system provides a very effective means for the pilot to designate a target.
The pilot moves his head to look and sight on the

target using the collimated aiming cross on the helmet sight.

The angular co-ordinates of the target sight line

relative to the airframe are then inferred from the measurements made by the head tracker system of the attitude of the pilots head.
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Helmet Mounted Sights (HMS)

In air to air combat, the angular co-ordinates of the

target line of sight (LOS) can be supplied to the missiles carried by the aircraft.
The missile seeker heads can then be slewed to the

target LOS to enable the seeker heads to acquire and lock on to the target.
Missile lock on is displayed to the pilot on the HMS

and an audio signal is also given. The pilot can then launch the missiles.
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HMD

Honeywell Integrated Helmet And Display Sight System (IHADSS)

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HMDs and the Virtual Cockpit

The concept of a virtual cockpit where information is

presented visually to the pilot by means of computer generated 3D imagery is being very actively researched in a number of establishments both in the USA and the UK.
The increasing use of remote piloted vehicles (RPVs)

and their control from a parent aircraft, or ground station, is another future application for HMDs and virtual cockpit technology.

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HMDs and the Virtual Cockpit

A correctly designed binocular HMD (BHMD) is a key

component in such systems because it is able to present both a display of information at infinity and also stereo images to each eye so that the pilot sees a 3D image. As an example, information related to the outside world can be viewed head up and information related to the mission and the aircraft health can be viewed head down using only one display system

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HMDs and the Virtual Cockpit

When looking down at the instrument panel, the virtual

cockpit computer system recognizes the pilots head down sight line from the head tracker output and supplies this information to the display generation system. The display generation system then generates a stereo pair of images of the appropriate instrument display on the panel which corresponds to the pilots sight line. Thus, looking down into the cockpit at the position normally occupied by a particular instrument display will result in the pilot seeing a 3D image of that instrument display appearing in the position it normally 48 occupies - i.e. a virtual instrument panel display

Typical HMD for Fighter Aircraft

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Head Down Display (HDD)

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HDD
Electronic technology has exhibited an exponential

growth in performance over four decades and is still advancing. The only traditional dial instruments which have been retained are the electromechanical standby instruments such as the altimeter, airspeed indicator, artificial horizon and heading indicator. Typically, a HDD comprises the display together with the drive electronics and power regulation. As with the HUD, there is frequently a simple processor and housekeeping software to control the brightness, self test and mode changes.
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HDD

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HDD

Primary Flight Display (PFD)

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HDD
The electronic Primary Flight Display (PFD) replaces

six electro-mechanical instruments: altimeter, vertical speed indicator, artificial horizon/attitude director indicator, heading/compass indicator and Mach meter. PFD formats follow the classic T layout of the conventional primary flight instruments Airspeed is shown on a scale on the left with pressure altitude and vertical speed on the right hand scales. Aircraft heading information is shown on a tape scale type format below the attitude display.
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HDD
The

artificial horizon/attitude display has a blue background above the horizon line representing the sky and a brown background below the horizon line representing the ground. This enables which way is up and the aircraft orientation to be rapidly assimilated by the pilot in recovering from an unusual attitude

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Military Head Down Displays

Typical advanced military cockpits are configured with

four head down displays.

There are two large colour displays; A Horizontal Situation Display (HSD) providing a 6 8 inch map display in portrait format with symbol overlay of routing and threat data and A Vertical Situation Display (VSD) providing an 86 inch IR video display showing targeting video at various magnifications.

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Military Head Down Displays

The

other two displays are smaller monochrome displays comprising,

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inch

A Systems Status Display (SSD) displaying systems status data and A Systems Control Display (SCD) displaying systems control data. Both displays have tactile data entry overlay.

The advanced cockpits for the new generation of

fighter/strike aircraft have just two large colour displays as the primary head down displays.
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Military Head Down Displays

Lockheed Martin Lightning 2 Joint Strike Fighter cockpit

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Military Head Down Displays

The instrument panel of the Lockheed Martin Lightning

2 Joint Strike Fighter which features two large flat panel color display surfaces.
The pilot can divide each screen into several windows

enabling a very wide variety of information to be displayed at the same time.

These flat panel displays are the same type as used in

commercial lap-top computers and are hardened to withstand the fighter environment by mounting them in rugged bezels.
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Digitally Generated Moving Color Map Displays

A map is by far the best way of visually assimilating the

aircrafts horizontal situation. That is the position of the aircraft relative to the chosen waypoints and destination, alternative routes, targets and location of specific terrain features such as mountains, hills, lakes, rivers, coast line, towns, cities, railways, roads, etc. Color maps can now be generated digitally from a map data base stored in the computer memory and moved in real time with the aircraft so that the aircraft is at the centre of the map display.
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Digitally Generated Moving Color Map Displays

Digitised map with information overlay (50,000 : 1 scale)

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Digitally Generated Moving Color Map Displays

3D terrain map display

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Digitally Generated Moving Color Map Displays

Some of the advantages are: Scale flexibility. The map can be displayed at any selected scale Look ahead and zoom facility. The pilot can look at the map some distance ahead of the aircrafts present position and zoom in at a large scale to see the terrain details, for example in the target area or destination airfield, etc. Terrain clearance display. The terrain above the pilots present altitude can be distinctly coloured so that the pilot is aware of the location of potentially dangerous terrain such as hills and mountains relative 63 to the aircraft.

Digitally Generated Moving Color Map Displays

Terrain screening display: The areas below the radar

LOS of known enemy radar sites can be displayed on the map so that advantage can be taken of terrain screening to minimize the probability of detection.
De-cluttering: Features and information (e.g. place

names) which are not required can be deleted from the map display to de-clutter the map for a particular phase of the mission.

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Digitally Generated Moving Color Map Displays

Threat locations. These may be enemy missile sites,

triple A sites, fighter airfields or radars. Threat envelopes showing, say, the missile range from a particular site, or sites, can be shown in a distinct color.
Known low altitude obstructions. Electricity pylons,

power cables, towers etc. can be emphasized on the map, for example by brightening them up, when flying at low altitude.
3D map displays. A 3D map can be generated of, say,

the target area to assist the pilot in visually assimilating 65 the local terrain and hence assist in target acquisition.

Multifunction Keyboard (MFK)

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Multifunction Keyboard (MFK)

The Multi Function Keyboard (MFK) is an avionics

sub-system through which the pilot interacts to configure mission related parameters like flight plan, airfield database, communication equipment during initialization and operation flight phase of mission
Need : Cockpit have less space

MFK has single panel of switches performing a

variety of functions depending on the phase of the mission

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MFK
MFK can be implemented in several ways

Light Emitting Diode - LED Liquid Crystal Display - LCD Cathode Ray Tube - CRT

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MFK

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MFK using LED

Designs using LEDs have arrays of standard-sized

pushbutton switches with legends built into surface of the switches Legends are generated by small arrays of matrix addressable LEDs in the switch cover. Colors can be used if desired Legends are changed as the mission phase changes

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MFK using LCD

Here the panel is a continuous smooth surface with

the individual switch function and area established by the matrix addressed LCD LCD has graphical capability But some provision has to be made for lighting the panel when the cockpit is dark

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MFK using CRT

Two Methods to use CRTs as MFK
Method I : CRT face to contain function labels correlated with adjacent switches mounted in the bezel surrounding the CRT

Method II : Overlay CRT face with a touchsensitive screen. The CRT face contain various switch function legends, and the corresponding function is selected by touching that portion of the screen over the switch label
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MFK
Major Consideration : Proper characters or data are

entered
Most common way : Display input as it is entered on

scratch pad and requiring a separate ENTER command after the correctness of the input is verified
To improve the correctness of tactile inputs, the entry

should occur upon lifting of the finger as opposed to when the surface is initially touched
This technique allows the operator to fine tune and/or

steady the position of his or her finger before making 73 the selection

MFK
MultiFunction Rotractor MultiFunction Display #1 MultiFunction Keyboard
HUD with UFCP and CAMERA MultiFunction Display #2

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Night Vision Goggles (NVG)

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Night Vision Goggle (NVG)

Night vision goggles (NVGs) are electronic devices that

help observers see in the dark. NVGs made for aviation are generally termed night vision imaging systems (NVIS).
During night time visual meteorological conditions

(VMC), the pilot can improve the out-the-windshield view with the use of NVIS.

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NVG
Two type of Night Vision Imaging System

Type I

Uses only Binocular goggle with phosphor screen image Used generally in rotorcraft

Type II

Have same goggle as Type I, but provision has been made to allow the pilot to directly view the instruments through a combiner positioned below the goggle Commonly used in fixed wing aircraft
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NVG
An image intensifier is an electronic device that

amplifies light energy. Light energy (photons) enter into the device through the objective lens and are focused onto a photocathode detector that is receptive to both visible and near-IR radiation. Due to the photoelectric effect, the photons striking the photocathode emit a current of electrons. Because the emitted electrons scatter in random directions, a large indefinite number of parallel tubes (channels) are required to provide separation and direction of the electron current to ensure that the final image will have sharp resolution.
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NVG
Electron amplification in a micro channel

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NVG
Each channel amplifier is microscopic, about 15m in

diameter A million or so micro channels are bundled in a wafer-shaped array. A bias potential of about 1000 V is established along the tube, and each electron produced by the photoelectric effect accelerates through the tube toward the anode. When an electron strikes other electrons in the coated channel they are knocked free and continue down the tube, hitting other electrons in a cascade effect. The result of this multiplication of electrons is a greatly amplified signal.
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NVG
The

amplified stream of electrons finally hits a phosphor-type fluorescent screen which, in turn, emits a large number of photons and creates an image.

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Hands On Throttle-And-Stick (HOTAS)

HOTAS
HOTAS is the concept of placing buttons and switches

on the throttle stick and flight control stick in an aircraft's cockpit, allowing the pilot to access vital cockpit functions and fly the aircraft without having to remove his hands from the throttle and flight controls.
Having all switches on the stick and throttle allows the

pilot to keep his "hands on throttle-and-stick", thus allowing him to remain focused on more important duties than looking for controls in the cockpit.

HOTAS
The goal is to improve the pilot's situational awareness,

his ability to manipulate switch and button controls in turbulence, under stress, or during high G-force maneuvers
Improves his reaction time, to minimize instances when

he must remove his hands from one or the other of the aircraft's controls to use another aircraft system, and total time spent doing so.

HOTAS