Whether you’re shopping for control displays or inflight entertainment systems (IFE systems), the considerations that you need to take into account are limitless. Your control displays impact the pilot and co-pilot’s ability to safely carryout the flight plans. Your IFE systems impact the passengers’ experience. If your flight gets from one point to another adequately, but the IFE systems are outdated or malfunctioning, your passengers’ impression of the entire trip will be marred by your poor IFE systems. To help you get started, we’ve put together a quick list of considerations that you should make:
Three Things to Think About While Choosing Aircraft Display Systems
- How rugged of a display is right for your setup?
You might not be taking your airplane on the battlefield, but choosing a aircraft display system that is rugged is extremely beneficial. Regardless of if you’re looking for displays in the cockpit that will control the entire aircraft, or for the IFE systems themselves, making durability a priority is a good idea.
While considering durability, consider the brightness levels that you’ll need to use, the size of displays you require, and the controls and screens you need. These factors help ensure that you get full functionality from your display systems.
There are a host of display systems available on the market today, but all display systems are not created equally. Look for a display system that meets your requirements, while also having a reputation for being rugged and durable, no matter what use you have for them, and your investment will go the furthest. - Focusing on brightness is a bright idea.
Your aircraft is going to be used in both day and night conditions (most likely). The brightness of your display will impact your ability to use it in circumstances with bright sunlight, and in the darkness of night. While you might assume the greatest need will be night-vision compatibility, it is actually sunlight that poses the greatest challenge. The sunlight can make it very difficult to accurately read aircraft display systems, as the bright daylight can washout the display screen if the brightness is not adjustable.
Make sure that you select aircraft display systems with superior brightness settings and adjustable displays. Many experts recommend looking for a brightness display that is a minimum of 600 candelas; but the more the better. If night vision compatibility is an important factor for you, you want to make sure the display can be darkened (once again, an adjustable display is ideal), or a filter can be installed. Many system designers look for a “night vision” option, so the brightness is automatically changed with the touch of a button. - Superior picture quality is a must-have.
One of your biggest concerns is probably the quality of the video feed; after all that is the primary function of your aircraft display systems. The technologies in aircraft display systems make it common place for aircraft display systems to include high definition video (HD video), but they come with varying levels of quality. When reviewing potential aircraft display systems, look for displays that have a minimum of 1,080 pixels. This picture quality is advanced enough to keep up with the advancements of supporting display equipment.
As you can imagine, HD video isn’t the only factor in achieving high quality pictures. The color resolution is also an important consideration. If you want really great quality image capturing, you want 8-bit color depth. The broader range of color really contributes to great quality, and operating the aircraft safely. The high color resolution helps pilots make out images that would otherwise be too similar to distinguish.
Another great picture quality feature is 3D imagery. The 3D imagery is valuable for identifying objects against the flat landscape. This also aids in the analysis of imagery, if your aircraft is to be used for image capturing purposes, for mapping or intelligence.
While the aircraft display systems that you incorporate into your airplane will not be responsible for the actual flight of the aircraft, but it is important for both the operation of the aircraft, the enjoyment of the passengers, and the ability of the aircraft to serve other purposes that just flight. When selecting aircraft display systems, it is important to take these factors into consideration.
