Vanguard Magazine

32 APRIL/MAY 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com TECHNOLOGY F urness is acknowledged as one of the most prominent figures to explore how information was to be communicated to the pilot, in future aircraft. The ubiquity of analogue buttons and dials in cockpits up to and including those of the early 1980s, it was agreed, could not be sustained. This article explores some of the technological ideas resulting from early research and development into future cock- pits, most notably head-down and helmet- mounted displays. A focus on supercockpit technologies can help us appreciate some of the differences exhibited by the three aircraft Canada is considering; namely, the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II; the Boeing F/A 18E/F Super Hornet; and the SAAB Gripen JAS 39E/F. Our sincere gratitude is extended to all three aerospace companies for their generous help with this complex subject matter. First Generation In first generation cockpits, information was presented to the pilot on a small num- ber of dials. This information was mainly engine or aircraft related. The pilot's situ- ational awareness (SA) was gained almost entirely from outside of the cockpit and was therefore restricted to an area within visual range. The evolution of the aircraft brought improvements in instrumentation, sen- sors, and general performance. These improvements, in turn, led to an increase in the number of switches, dials, and dis- plays that presented information to the pilot. By 1985, there were more than 300 in some fighters. In the early 1980s, for example, the CF-18 Hornet cathode ray tubes displayed 675 acronyms, 177 sym- bols, 73 threat and danger warnings, 40 malfunction display formats, and 22 head- up display configurations. In addition, there were 200 film strips and maps on the horizontal situation indicator, 59 indicator lights, 6 auditory warning tones, 19 push- buttons on the up-front panel, 9 switches, mostly multi-function, on the throttle, and 7 switches on the stick. The aim of aircraft and helicopter designers was to de- sign future cockpits that would be more manageable. The goal was to improve the pilot's situational awareness (SA) by re- ducing their workload. Later Generations The most modern fighter technology, namely 5th generation, addresses: stealth (you must appear smaller or further away than everyone else); aerodynamics (you should be able to out-manoeuvre certain of your adversaries if ever they get too close); and, most relevant to our present discussion on SA, knowledge (enabled by integrated avionics, in that your ability to receive, process and act on your informa- tion must give you an advantage over ev- eryone else). There are two components to SA: global and tactical. Global SA generally covers the non-visual, spherical world out to ap- proximately 150 to 200 nautical miles, or about 300 kilometres, corresponding to the distance to the horizon, at an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,230 metres). Tactical SA covers close-in, visual, air-to-air and air- Lockheed Martin Senior F-35 Test Pilot LCol Billie Flynn (Ret'd), RCAF. Photo: Billie Flynn.

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