I had a neat opportunity yesterday to fly a developmental simulator out at the Langley Research Center in Hampton (I bet we've got folks on this forum that work there!). This was a 737 with a wide-view HUD on the left side, and a simulated Synthetic Vision System that projects not only the standard HUD-type data, but a computer generated view of the world as well.
(I think the folks in aircraft operations must have taken pity on me - I have been stuck in meeting after meeting at various NASA centers for the past month, and finally, someone gave me something to fly! What a breath of fresh air....and a good way to keep me happy!
)
They set me up to fly a fairly complex approach into Reno - I didn't have an approach plate, so can't tell you which one. But I didn't need a plate, because the HUD had a "Highway in the Sky" display, just like my GRT EFIS! Just drvie the plane through the boxes, and it takes you through the procedure, right down to the ground. Any kid who's played a video game could do it. The synthetic vision system made it seem like I was flying in VFR - could see the mountians, nearby terrain, runway environment - all plain as day. I couldn't figure out why my buddy in the right seat (witout the HUD) was making strange gasping noises as we approached the touchdown point! I made a surprisingly good landing and stopped on the runway with a couple thousand feet remaining, at which point the guy demoing the system to me said "OK, now look around the HUD and taxi to the ramp!" I looked without the Synthetic Vision, and could just bairly see the nearest runway light in the dense fog they had simulated in the visuals. Taxi? Forget it - send the Follow-Me Truck!!
What I found most amazing when I thought about it was that with the exception of the Synthetic Vision system, which made the flair and touchdown easy, the rest of the technology that made the approach so simple is sitting in my EFIS in the RV-8 today! Langley is NASA's premier Aeronautics research center, and it appears that the Experimental world is catching up with the absolute state of the art pretty rapidly - if not surpassing it. And I think that is a good thing!
Paul
(I think the folks in aircraft operations must have taken pity on me - I have been stuck in meeting after meeting at various NASA centers for the past month, and finally, someone gave me something to fly! What a breath of fresh air....and a good way to keep me happy!
They set me up to fly a fairly complex approach into Reno - I didn't have an approach plate, so can't tell you which one. But I didn't need a plate, because the HUD had a "Highway in the Sky" display, just like my GRT EFIS! Just drvie the plane through the boxes, and it takes you through the procedure, right down to the ground. Any kid who's played a video game could do it. The synthetic vision system made it seem like I was flying in VFR - could see the mountians, nearby terrain, runway environment - all plain as day. I couldn't figure out why my buddy in the right seat (witout the HUD) was making strange gasping noises as we approached the touchdown point! I made a surprisingly good landing and stopped on the runway with a couple thousand feet remaining, at which point the guy demoing the system to me said "OK, now look around the HUD and taxi to the ramp!" I looked without the Synthetic Vision, and could just bairly see the nearest runway light in the dense fog they had simulated in the visuals. Taxi? Forget it - send the Follow-Me Truck!!
What I found most amazing when I thought about it was that with the exception of the Synthetic Vision system, which made the flair and touchdown easy, the rest of the technology that made the approach so simple is sitting in my EFIS in the RV-8 today! Langley is NASA's premier Aeronautics research center, and it appears that the Experimental world is catching up with the absolute state of the art pretty rapidly - if not surpassing it. And I think that is a good thing!
Paul