Three large LCD cockpit concept for retrofit applications

Nowadays glass cockpits for commercial aircraft usually feature six display units. When one or two units are lost due to failures, continued safe flight is guaranteed using the remaining units. A cockpit concept is proposed with only three display units, and at least the same safety level. This three large LCD cockpit can reduce costs for the airlines, while at the same time it provides built-in growth potential for emerging functions. Innovative display technology based upon the "fail safe concept" and a reconfigurable interface between pilots and the avionics system allow these seemingly incompatible goals. The paper describes an example application of the new cockpit concept for retrofit applications in airbus single aisle aircraft. The system architecture is explained, both on the cockpit level and on the level of the individual display units. Handling of detected and undetected display unit failures was the key issue in the human-machine interface development. The display reconfiguration principles are presented and the integration of backup displays and new functions is explained. Both the reconfigurations and the new functions benefit from the availability of cursor-control devices.