RAF pilots left ‘blinded’ at 1000 mph by helmet technical glitch

[BIGNEWY]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/raf-pilots-left-blinded-at-1000-mph-by-helmet-technical-glitch-8919504.html

 

 

 

RAF pilots were left “blinded” by a barrage of images while flying at speeds of over 1,000 mph when a number of technical glitches hit their high-tech helmets.

 

The visors were supposed to provide the fighter pilots with complete vision and awareness, but problems with the display produced a blurring known as “green-glow”, meaning they were unable to see clearly.

 

The green glow occurred when a mass of information was displayed on the helmet-mounted display systems, including radar pictures and images from cameras mounted around the aircraft.

 

“The technology will be amazing when it is made to work effectively,” one source told the Mail on Sunday. “But for now, there’s only so much data you can put in front of the pilot’s eyes before it all merges, especially at night.

 

“He or she has got to take in information about their speed, altitude, dive and climb angles, and manage their fuel levels and weapons systems. Add images of the surrounding airspace and it all becomes too much. Essentially, the pilots were being blinded.”

 

Angus Robertson, the Scottish National Party’s defence spokesman said that the problems could have been deadly for three British pilots testing the technology.

 

The trio are currently training with the United States Air Force in Florida. They are learning to fly new £100 million Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs), for which the helmets developed by BAE Systems were being used.

 

The defence firm has now been dropped from the £30 million helmet project.

 

Robertson told the Mail on Sunday: “Reports about the helmet-mounted display system are worrying. This is also the latest in a string of setbacks for the hugely expensive JSF programme. With billions of taxpayers’ pounds already spent, the Ministry of Defence must come clean about these defects.”

 

The MoD is set to purchase 48 JSFs, each costing £100 million. The jet is engineered by US firm Lockheed Martin, with over 100 British companies connected to the manufacture.

 

A BAE spokesman said that the helmet had “met every milestone” and that the firm is disappointed by the decision.

[Pyroflash]

Would they rather take the VSI entrant? Personally, I'm hoping that the U.S. will continue to look at BaE as a potential competitor in the helmet. I'm sure that these bugs will be worked out eventually in the testing phases. If it does fail, then there are other options. To burn bridges because of one failure? That doesn't even sound logical to me.

[4c Hajduk Veljko]

There has to be a way to fly the F-35 without the helmet display. What if the helmet display circuit breaker trips off?

[OutOnTheOP]

"There has to be a way to fly without the HUD, what if it dies?" "There has to be a way to fly without the CDU, what if it dies" "There has to be a way to bomb without CCIP, what if it dies?" ...Of course there are ways to fly the aircraft without the primary displays, but if the HUD (be it mounted to the aircraft or your face) goes out, you abort and get it fixed. This is nothing new.

[Aginor]

The JSF can be flown without the helmet mounted sight, just like other airplanes. In fact I think most of the JSFs out there aren't equipped with it yet.

 

So no big deal, they just had to turn it off and look at their normal HUD.

But yeah, it's dangerous when such errors happen in situations where seconds (like the ones you need to turn the thing off) in which the pilot is blind do matter.

 

I guess it will be cool once it works, especially because it will make up for the not so good cockpit visibility the JSF has without it. But that will take some time. Every technology has its setbacks and needs time before it works almost perfectly. Look at the history of laser guided weapons or radar.

[Pyroflash]

The JSF can be flown without the helmet mounted sight, just like other airplanes. In fact I think most of the JSFs out there aren't equipped with it yet.

 

So no big deal, they just had to turn it off and look at their normal HUD.

But yeah, it's dangerous when such errors happen in situations where seconds (like the ones you need to turn the thing off) in which the pilot is blind do matter.

 

I guess it will be cool once it works, especially because it will make up for the not so good cockpit visibility the JSF has without it. But that will take some time. Every technology has its setbacks and needs time before it works almost perfectly. Look at the history of laser guided weapons or radar.

 

Except the F-35X doesn't have a HUD. It has main displays that are capable of displaying the pertinent flight info, but not a HUD. If the HMD goes down, then you have to fly old-school, not that the HUD is a super critical piece of technology for normal flight anyways. I don't think it is too much of a safety issue.

[Aginor]

Yeah, HUD was wrong. I meant displays. You can display HUD information on the other screens as well I guess (at least it is possible in other jets). If not the JSF sucks in that regard and they should change it.