Sun, Aug 02, 2009
New Heads Up Display Projects On The Back Of A Prop
By: Chris Batcheller
Do you remember your first flight instructor telling you to
'keep your head out of the cockpit'? VirtualHUD has developed a new
product that will help make that possible. Using a laser beam,
it projects an image on the back of a propeller. It's
designed to increase the pilot’s situational awareness, and
can even be integrated with Forward Visions Infrared
Camera.
The system is a prodigy of the NASA SATS Technology Program. The
goal was to design a heads up display for General Aviation.
He was tinkering with traditional glass displays when one day it
hit him. “He was at his father’s house playing with a
laser pointer. Then he pointed it at the fan and had an Ah Ha
moment” said Amy Christian, President of
VirtualHUD.
The system works by projecting an image onto the back of the
spinning propeller. The system interfaces with a
handheld or panel mount GPS via RS-232 Data to display heading,
speed and altitude. The system can also be interfaced
with a Forward Vision Infrared Camera for a $700 upgrade.
To date the company has been flying the system for 9 months and
25 hours. The company plans to put 100 hours on the system in
the coming months. The company also plans on putting the
system in a LoPresti Fury flown by Corkey
Fornof. Corky’s routine will be programmed into the
computer and Corky will fly his routine using HITS or
“Highway In The Sky”.
With a starting price of $3295, the company is currently taking
orders at the show with a projected delivery time at about 6
weeks.
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