Rockwell Collins HGS-3500 brings small HUD to smaller airplanes

For more than five years, Rockwell Collins engineers have been working on a tough challenge: how to make a compact head-up display (HUD) system, one that c

By Matt Thurber • Editor-in-Chief

May 24, 2011

For more than five years, Rockwell Collins engineers have been working on a tough challenge: how to make a compact head-up display (HUD) system, one that could fit into much smaller aircraft than the big jets that currently carry HUDs. Now, thanks to ever-improving technology, Rockwell Collins looks to be first out of the gate with the new HGS-3500 head-up guidance system, a self-contained single-LRU HUD that does away with the bulky external projector.

The HGS-3500 head-up guidance system is targeting light to midsize business aircraft, from single-engine turboprops to midsize jets, and is designed to fit cockpits equipped with Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics. At roughly one-fifth the installed cost of a typical long-range jet’s HUD, the HGS-3500 promises to bring the safety benefits of HUD technology into many more cockpits. No announcements have been made about which aircraft will be first to feature the HGS-3500, but, predictably enough, Rockwell Collins is in discussions with aircraft manufacturers, according to Adam Evanschwartz, principal marketing manager at Rockwell Collins.

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