Technology update
Ejecting the Striker
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Marconi Avionics Group's Striker helmet-mounted display (HMD) has been tested in a live ejection. According to the company, it was one of the very few successful ejections and qualifications of an HMD undertaken at 600 kts.
NASA Dryden, in collaboration with the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division and the Canadian National Defence Headquarters, undertook the ejection tests using a specially modified Phantom YF-4J aircraft. The Striker helmet was fitted to an instrumented mannequin in place of the standard helmet to provide test data on dynamic performance when subjected to the violent forces of a very high-speed ejection. The test was carried out at China Lake as part of an assessment for a revised parachute canopy for the F-18. The HMD successfully survived the test, said Marconi. The company said that this kind of testing is normally performed on a ground-based rocket-propelled sled and the opportunity to perform a live ejection with an HMD is very rare.
Marconi Avionics announced at the Paris Air Show that it has developed a visual guidance system (VGS) for commercial head-up display (HUD) applications. Based on experience gained in military programs, it includes takeoff and roll-out guidance. It has an extensive display capability. Marconi has also completed the first phase of a study program for civil air transport aircraft to investigate operation of a VGS HUD in a smoke-filled cockpit. The study is being conducted at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida, to assess the relative viewability and usability of next-generation commercial HUDs and conventional head-down EFIS (Electronic Flight Instrumentation System) displays in a cockpit filling with smoke resulting from an electrical fire or short. Marconi says that during testing in moderate smoke from the instrument panel or side control entry with day or night conditions, the VGS symbology could be interpreted "for more than 11 minutes after the EFIS display was occluded by smoke."
Stuart Birch
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