Air Force endorses Boeing flight display

 

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LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force has endorsed Boeing's C-130 Avionics Modernization Program Head-Up and Head-Down Primary Flight Display.

The endorsement of the system as the primary flight reference from U.S. Air Force Directorate of Operations Headquarters follows four years of design reviews, lab evaluations and demonstrations, Boeing said.

"This endorsement means C-130 AMP pilots can now use the HUD as their sole primary flight reference, allowing them to use their head-down displays for other data," said Mahesh Reddy, C-130 AMP program manager for Boeing. "We involved the Air Force customer from the beginning of the design reviews. This allowed them to ask questions along the way, become familiar with the product and make all necessary adjustments to the HUD design."

A primary flight reference is a requirement in all aircraft and must include airspeed, altitude and attitude data, as well as flight path information for the pilots.

The C-130 AMP HUD is a transparent display of flight data that allows the pilots to maintain an "out-the-window" viewpoint rather than looking down at cockpit instruments as on a standard C-130, Boeing said.

The C-130 AMP was approved for low-rate initial production in June. The first two aircraft are scheduled for induction into the Air Force this month and in October.