The Increasing Role of Head-up Guidance Systems in Improving Flight Efficiency and Operating Safety

摘要

Head-up guidance systems have been in airline use for 15 years. They were introduced to provide improved operating capability in low-visibility conditions and to improve the margin of operating safety in takeoff, approach and landing. By projecting inertial flight path, speed and flight path acceleration in the pilot's forward field of view, these systems have come to be recognized as a means to improve safety during takeoff and landing in all weather conditions. This paper addresses the growing role of head-up guidance systems in providing new and increasingly useful information to the pilot in conducting ground and flight operations. New advances in head-up guidance systems provide additional margins of safety in flight and promise additional benefits in ground operations. Recently certified advances aid the pilot in countering environmental disturbances, degraded visual conditions and aircraft configurations that result in unusual attitudes, tail strikes, non-optimal airspeed and runway overruns. A new head-up guidance based technology to reduce runway incursions and improve airport ground operations is in the test and evaluation phase. In addition to addressing safety benefits, this paper provides an overview of the operating efficiencies gained as a result of the systems' growing acceptance by the airlines.