Helmet-mounted displays

Because I am a JANES unbeliever (oops I mean nonsubscriber) my access is only to the PDF described below - which from the few excerpts available is not worth downloading by other nonJaneBelievers. However... there is always this... An F-35 GEN III HMDS in the wild.... ohboy.

Learning to fly: UK F-35 training ramps up
[Content preview – Subscribe to IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly for full article]
http://www.janes360.com/images/assets/0 ... mps_up.pdf (0.6Mb)

Nice Union Jack paint job

Nice Union Jack paint job :D

It's too suddle IMO.

It should be in the normal flag colors while proudly displayed on the helmet.

I'm not suggesting that the JHMCS and the HMDS III are the same but wondering if in some circumstances a newbie F-35 pilot may have an issue similar to this newbie qualified on JHMCS pilot had in the lost Super Hornet. I'll guess that everyone in the F-35 world has paid attention to this report etc.

Navy report: 2014 Super Hornet crash was preventable
15 Jan 2015 Mike Hixenbaugh | The Virginian-Pilot

"...In one of the jets, a young pilot was flying his first training mission since becoming qualified to use a special helmet that projects key flight data - such as air speed, altitude, target range - onto his visor [JHMCS].

The pilot, investigators learned later, hadn't gone through a recommended computer-based course before being cleared to fly with the visor-mounted display. In fact, the investigator discovered, out of 17 squadrons based at Oceana, none reported requiring pilots to complete the course; only one squadron was even aware it existed....

...The crash was a reminder of how a small mistake in the cockpit of a fighter jet can snowball quickly. After entering the maneuver too fast, the pilot had seconds to take corrective action. But because he failed to execute standard cross checks - and because of his inexperience using the helmet-mounted display - he lost "situational awareness," the report said.

Oversights in training and mission prep were contributing factors, the investigator wrote. Every fighter pilot in the Navy was briefed on the findings. And moving forward, anyone flying with a helmet-mounted display must complete all available training courses...."

Source: http://hamptonroads.com/2015/01/navy-re ... reventable

Nice Union Jack paint job

It's too suddle IMO.

It should be in the normal flag colors while proudly displayed on the helmet.

My assumption is that because the helmets must be taped white, life support created the stylised union jack scheme using 3M tape strips.

Thanks to 'SWP' today [ viewtopic.php?f=22&t=26785&p=284175&hilit=Easterling#p284175 ] : some more 'LadderLafter' see previous page of this thread [ viewtopic.php?f=62&t=16223&p=281158&hilit=NAILED#p281158 ]: http://www.eglin.af.mil/shared/media/ph ... 07-001.jpg

"5/13/2013 - Brian Easterling, a 96th Test Wing firefighter, climbs a ladder to extract an injured F-35 Lightning II pilot during a major accident response exercise May 9. This was the first MARE involving the Air Force’s newest fighter aircraft at Eglin. First responders had to put out fires on debris from the aircraft after a hard landing. They also had to extract the injured pilot and get him to medical personnel. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)"

Source: http://www.eglin.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123348239

Elsewhere today this particular item is repeated along with a bunch of other stuff but worth repeating here:

F-35 Continues on Path Toward Full Weapons Certification
16 Jan 2015 F-35 News

"... · Successful first (Sept. 9) and night flight (Sept. 18) with the Generation III helmet-mounted display with 3iR4 software..."

Source: https://www.f35.com/news/detail/f-35-co ... tification

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) FY 14 DOD PROGRAMS
Jan 2015 DOT&E

"...Mission Systems
Flight Test Activity with AF-3, AF-6, AF-7, BF-4, BF-5, BF-17, BF-18, CF-3, and CF-8 Flight Test Aircraft and Software Development Progress

... • Mission systems testing focused on:
- Completing flight testing of Block 2B capabilities
- Start of flight testing of Block 3i software, which began in May
- Start of Generation III helmet-mounted display system (HMDS) testing...

Mission Systems Assessment...
... ▪ The second iteration of Block 3i software, 3iR4, included capability to test the new Generation III HMDS. The Edwards test center flew four test missions with 3iR4 on AF-3 in September, accomplishing regression test points and some initial test points from the Generation III HMDS test plan. This was the first testing of the new HMDS on F-35 test aircraft. The test team discovered deficiencies, particularly in the stability of the new display management computer for the helmet, and suspended further testing until software that fixes the deficiencies in the helmet system can be provided to the major contractor and included in an updated load of mission systems software.

▪ The third increment of Block 3i software, version 3iR5, will be used to provide production software for Lot 7 aircraft, the first lot to be delivered with the Generation III HMDS....

...Additional time will be needed to address corrections if additional deficiencies are identified in the Generation III HMDS and will add risk to the schedule...."

Source: http://www.defense-aerospace.com/dae/ar ... n_F-35.pdf (0.3Mb)

The rest is behind the usual AvWeak whatsitsname - so - whatever...

F-35’s Gen-3 Helmet Display In Final Test Stages
26 Jan 2015 Graham Warwick | Aviation Week & Space Technology

"Improved helmet-mounted display for F-35 features multiple upgrades.

Eliminating the head-up display and relying instead on a helmet-mounted display (HMD) was only one of the bolder design decisions for the Lockheed Martin F-35. It has also proved one of the more challenging, but a system meeting the requirements is in the final stages of testing. Aircraft hardware for the third generation of the F-35 HMD is being delivered to Lockheed for production Joint Strike Fighters, with the “Gen-3” helmets expected to arrive at pilot training locations..."

Source: http://aviationweek.com/technology/f-35 ... est-stages

Eliminating the head-up display and relying instead on a helmet-mounted display (HMD) was only one of the bolder design decisions for the Lockheed Martin F-35. It has also proved one of the more challenging, but a system meeting the requirements is in the final stages of testing.
Aircraft hardware for the third generation of the F-35 HMD is being delivered to Lockheed for production Joint Strike Fighters, with the “Gen-3” helmets expected to arrive at pilot training locations beginning in late spring.

The new HMD incorporates fixes to several shortcomings identified in the Gen-2 helmet during F-35 flight testing and pilot training. These included night-vision acuity, symbology jitter, imagery latency, alignment and green glow.

Gen-3 helmets will be fielded beginning with low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 7 F-35s now in assembly at Lockheed. Improvements to the Gen-2 helmet, meanwhile, have been made to support U.S. Marine Corps’ efforts to declare F-35B initial operational capability (IOC) by year-end.

“Latency, jitter, etc. are well behind us with hardware and software improvements incorporated into Gen-2 with LRIP 5. We are now finishing up development of Gen-3 and are in qualification testing,” says Robert McKillip, senior director for HMD programs at Rockwell Collins.

“Gen-3 involves a lot of little things that improve performance and producibility,” he says. A major change is to use two new Intevac ISIE-11 night-vision cameras: one on the helmet and one on the aircraft glareshield looking forward. The ISIE-11 has a larger aperture and higher resolution, sensitivity and speed than the ISIE-10 on the Gen-2 helmet.

Originally just a simple forward-looking day sensor, the aircraft-mounted camera now performs several key functions in the Gen-3 system: helping to track the pilot’s head, aligning the helmet display and improving visibility while flying at night.

Replacing the conventional head-up display, the F-35 HMD projects stabilized flight symbology and sensor imagery onto the pilot’s visor. With Gen-3, imagery from both the forward and helmet ISIE-11 cameras is used to minimize obstruction of the pilot’s night vision by the canopy bow.

“We fuse the imagery and eliminate most of the bow frame,” says McKillip. This is critical during hose-and-drogue refueling at night in the F-35B and Navy F-35C variants, as it enables the pilot “to see the probe go into the basket,” he says.Gen-3 adds a light-emitting diode (LED) and camera to the front of the helmet and back of the forward camera. The sensors optically track the LEDs to augment head-tracking and automate the calibration of display alignment.

Three methods of tracking head motion are used. The main one is magnetic, using a sensor mounted on top of the ejection seat, but alignment can shift over time so long-term optical- tracking has been added to keep the helmet aligned.

An inertial measurement unit (IMU) also is installed in the helmet to mitigate symbology jitter caused by aircraft buffet. “It is a trade between twitchiness and damping. When the IMU senses higher buffet, symbology is more heavily damped. We now use a different trade that errs on the side or readability.”

A third function of the forward camera is to enable the pilot to quickly perform an end-to end check of the Gen-3 helmet using the boresight reticle unit. “This gives the pilot visual feedback on alignment. It’s a go/no-go test that the helmet is aligned,” McKillip explains.

Because of the design changes, the Gen-3 helmet requires ground-testing to clear the helmet for pilot ejection at speeds up to 550 kt. A component failed on one ejection-seat test and is being redesigned and retested.

First flight of the Gen-3 helmet on an F-35 was on aircraft AF-3 in September at Edwards AFB, California. Testing was halted after four flights due to stability problems with the new display-management computer, says the latest report by the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation.

“There were integration issues between Elbit’s software and Lockheed’s software. These were fixed in an Oct. 30 software release. We have not seen this issue in our lab, in Lockheed’s lab or on the jet since,” says McKillip.

Rockwell Collins leads development of the F-35 HMD under the Rockwell Collins ESA Vision Systems joint venture with Elbit Systems of America. It replaces the original Vision Systems International consortium and has a simplified structure.

Deliveries of aircraft equipment for LRIP 7, including the forward camera, began late last year. Helmet deliveries will begin in late spring to the F-35 integrated training center at Eglin AFB in Florida.

Thanks for that - so you paid?... And Paid... AND PAID.... 'brungitonyourself'

I can see now how a 'deadspot' was the canopy bow obstructing refuelling view at night (I guess). I'll dig that out now....

This stuff fell off a truck via e-mail and I do not ask... AND BEWARE the DATE is Aug 2013...

F-35B Pilots Conduct Night Shipboard Landing Without Night-Vision
Posted on InsideDefense.com: August 30, 2013

"...In May, Col. Kevin Killea, then-branch head for aviation weapon systems requirements, told Inside the Navy that the night-vision camera in the F-35 helmet was an "abject failure."

"This camera that is on the current Gen II helmet, it went through testing just like everything else did and the test pilots said, 'It's not good, we recommend that you don't use it in any phase of [night?] flight,'" he said.

The problem with the camera is the night-vision acuity. The Marines would like to be as close to 20/20 as possible, but it's at best 20/35, Killea stated.

"This was off-the-charts poor," he added.

However, the Marines will be able to fly at night because of the distributed aperture system (DAS), Killea added.

The service will have to adjust its tactics, techniques and procedures while it waits for the new camera to be retrofitted into the helmets. The new camera is supposed to be delivered in 2015 but it will take about a year to retrofit the helmets, he said.

The information the Marines gather during the fall test period will inform how the pilots will operate on amphibious ships between initial operational capability and when all the new cameras are put into the helmets.

The DAS system cannot be used for tanking and shipboard operations because the system has a blind spot, he said.

Moreover, the helmet is still not where the Marine Corps would like it to be, Brig. Gen. Jerry Glavy, assistant deputy commandant for aviation at HQMC, told reporters on the Wasp.

Glavy said the service has confidence in the F-35 joint program office getting it right...."

Thanks for that - so you paid?... And Paid... AND PAID....

Don't pay myself...Have company access..

Good to know. The subscription to InSideTheFence is incredible - who would pay that I wonder - certainly not me.

The DAS system has blind spots close in, but as you get farther away from the aircraft, the sensors' FOV begin to overlap to fill in coverage. High false alarm rate - still has that.

EOTS should look straight down just fine.