High-definition displays for realistic simulator and trainer systems

Current flight simulators and trainers do not provide acceptable levels of visual display performance (performance that would allow ground based trainers to economically replace aircraft flying training) for many air-to-air and air-to- ground training scenarios. Ground training for pilots could be made significantly more realistic, allowing the ground-based curricula to be enlarged. The enhanced ground based training could then more readily augment actual aircraft flying (training) time. This paper presents the technology need and opportunity to create a new class of immersive simulator- trainer systems having some 210 million pixels characterized especially by a 20-20 visual acuity synthetic vision system having some 150 million pixels. The same new display technology base is needed for planned crew stations for uninhabited combat air vehicles (UCAV), advanced aircraft cockpits and mission crewstations, and for the space plane.