The L-3 exhibit is showing visitors how its advanced digital display technology is revolutionising the cockpits of a wide range of military and civilian aircraft.
The stand features a double-width (20 by 8-inch) Large Area Avionic Display (LAAD), the largest ruggedised AMLCD ever developed for use in a military aircraft. The LAAD features left and right independence, meaning that if one half of the display malfunctions the other side can still be used.
The touch-panel display also features separate processors and LED backlighting.
Joe Garcia, L-3’s director of display systems, says that the low-energy backlight means it runs very cool in use. “This is important in modern cockpits and is light years ahead of earlier fluorescent backlighting,” he says. “The colour rendition and detail is first class as well. This is the panel that will be fitted to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.”
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The ergonomic design also features a slight ledge on the top of the display for pilots to rest their fingers while selecting touch-screen components. Garcia says that it is small touches like this that make a big difference to usability.
The L-3 exhibit also shows how the display can integrate all types of information, including instrumentation, mapping, navigation and external sensor inputs.
L-3 recently secured a contract for a further 100 multi-function colour displays for the Saab Gripen fighter. This brings the total now supplied to more than 500 units for the Swedish Air Force and other international users.
L-3 makes displays for smaller aircraft too. It recently announced that it had received Technical Standard Order (TSO) Authorisation and Supplemental Type Certification (STC) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the SmartDeck(R) Integrated Flight Controls and Display System for the Cirrus Design SR22 G2 model.
L-3 designed a simple user interface and menu structure to support pilot functions in “three clicks or less”, making it easier and safer to use.
SmartDeck is the only system for light aircraft to include a display dedicated to flight plan management and communication information as part of its standard configuration.
It also integrates a number of advanced situational awareness technologies to provide detailed data on navigation, traffic avoidance, terrain avoidance, communication, flight controls, engine parameters and enhanced vision (EVS).
Source: Flight International
