With passenger traffic on a steep rise in China, the demand for new airplanes grows unabated. To cater to this need, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) commenced construction of its C919 series of airliners in 2009. The Chinese CARERI research institute, which was chosen to develop the cockpit for the new aircraft, decided to integrate Barco’s display head on account of its easy integration possibilities and excellent optical performance. Barco’s experience in DAL A certification for civil aviation and its local presence in China also influenced CARERI’s choice. 

A first for the 15.4” display head 
Each C919 cockpit will be equipped with five of Barco’s Display Head Assembly (DHA)-3138 units. Combining a bright LED-backlight with a state-of-the art 15.4” WSXGA+ LCD, the advanced display head ensures high brightness and excellent contrast, even in direct sunlight. Its large size ensures enhanced user comfort and less eye fatigue. “Barco strongly believes that the cockpit of the future will include large-sized, wide aspect-ratio displays. The cockpit demonstrator we presented at last year’s Paris Airshow was indeed equipped with a 15.4” 16:10 aspect ratio display. We’re glad to see that this trend is already being picked up by the industry for civil air transport,” says Dave Scott, General Manager Defense, Aerospace & Training Division at Barco. 

Long-term, cooperative partnership 
Scott further highlights how Barco’s avionics department is excited about the deal with CARERI: “Barco’s range of avionics displays is based on common building blocks. This commonality, which allows easy integration into various cockpits, was one of the reasons for CARERI to choose our solution. We’re delighted to join forces with this high-level institute to work on COMAC’s C919 series.” “We wanted to cooperate with an open, world-leading partner in avionics that develops and manufactures high-quality, high-performance and certifiable products,” said CARERI officials. “Among the numerous big-name suppliers, we chose Barco, not only for its capacity to conform to our technical, functionality and certification requirements, but also because of Barco’s aspiration to establish a long-term cooperative partnership with CARERI. Together, we believe in a bright future.” 

Simulation and VR training system 
Earlier this year, COMAC selected Barco’s simulation and virtual reality training system for the day-to-day training of its aerospace engineers. The proposed system consists of Barco’s Holospace L-shaped stereoscopic environment and five Galaxy NW-12 active 3D stereo projectors, providing high-resolution and a full-immersion, 3D stereoscopic environment. It was the first simulation and virtual reality system in China’s commercial aviation industry. 

Under the new contract with CARERI, Barco will supply DHA-3138 for 1,500 airplanes, i.e. 7,500 display heads in all, in the course of 2014 to 2030 timeframe.