The Chinese Aeronautical Radio Electronics Research Institute (CARERI) selected Barco’s 15.4-inch display head for integration into the cockpit of COMAC’s C919 commercial airliner series. The first display heads are scheduled for delivery in 2014. CARERI research institute is developing the cockpit for the new aircraft.
Each C919 cockpit will be equipped with five of Barco’s Display Head Assembly (DHA)-3138 units. It combines a bright LED-backlight with a 15.4-inch WSXGA+ LCD. Its large size ensures enhanced user comfort and less eye fatigue, the company said.
“Barco strongly believes that the cockpit of the future will include large-sized, wide aspect-ratio displays. The cockpit demonstrator we presented at last year’s Paris Airshow was indeed equipped with a 15.4-inch 16:10 aspect ratio display. We’re glad to see that this trend is already being picked up by the industry for civil air transport,” says Dave Scott, general manager defense, aerospace & training division at Barco. “Barco’s range of avionics displays is based on common building blocks. This commonality, which allows easy integration into various cockpits, was one of the reasons for CARERI to choose our solution. We’re delighted to join forces with this high-level institute to work on COMAC’s C919 series.”
Earlier this year, COMAC selected Barco’s simulation and virtual reality training system for the day-to-day training of its aerospace engineers. The proposed system consists of Barco’s Holospace L-shaped stereoscopic environment and five Galaxy NW-12 active 3D stereo projectors, providing high-resolution and a full-immersion, 3D stereoscopic environment. It was the first simulation and virtual reality system in China’s commercial aviation industry.
Under the new contract with CARERI, Barco will supply DHA-3138 for 1,500 airplanes, i.e. 7,500 display heads in all, in the course of 2014 to 2030 timeframe.