SCIENCE

Visualization pioneer Barco has been selected by flight simulation leader CAE to supply projection technology for the helicopter simulators at the Army Aviation School based in Bückeburg Germany. Under the terms of the contract, Barco will upgrade eleven helicopter simulators with a total of 88 Barco SIM 7 high-resolution simulation projectors.

The German Army Aviation School (Heeresfliegerwaffenschule) in Bückeburg is responsible for the basic and advanced training of helicopter pilots for the German Armed Forces. Germany's Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement has awarded CAE Germany a contract to upgrade the visual display systems in the CAE-built helicopter simulators located at the School's Hans E. Drebing simulator center. The state-of-the-art training facility includes two UH-1D, two CH-53, and eight EC135 helicopter simulators. As part of the upgrade, eleven of the simulators will be equipped with eight Barco SIM 7 projectors each.

“As the complexity of helicopters and other flying systems increases, it is more and more important to give pilots extensive in-depth training with simulators so that they are fully confident when using real helicopters,” says Ulrich Aderhold, CAE. “This goal can only be achieved by the intensive use of high-quality simulators”.

Barco's SIM 7 projectors deliver razor-sharp, smear-free and stable images for high-speed motion applications. Also, thanks to the QXGA resolution, they provide improved realistic simulations for flight training.

In addition, Barco's night vision googles (NVG) optimization also allows CAE to use the SIM 7 projectors for true, realistic NVG stimulation – so that the night as well as the day training scenarios are of equally high quality for the pilots.

“CAE has a long-standing reputation in the flight simulation market, and we are pleased to have been selected for this project,” comments Dirk Hendrickx, Vice President Estabished Markets EMEA, Barco. “Barco's SIM 7 series has been developed specifically for these types of applications to ensure pilots a safe and totally realistic training experience. This complex set-up with eight projectors in a motion-based simulator requires dedicated products. Our SIM 7 projectors are equipped with a motion-based compatibility option and they are also ruggedized to withstand the large G-forces of high-speed motion vibration to guarantee our customers a future-proof visualization solution.”

Barco's SIM 7 series projectors push the envelope of visualization technology to provide extremely realistic simulation. The Barco SIM 7 series is optimized for multi-channel visualization to provide exceptional contrast, unmatched dynamic range, seamless image blending, and outstanding performance. Specially developed to meet the real-world demands of commercial and military flight training and mission rehearsal scenarios, the Barco SIM 7 series can be easily integrated into simulation systems with spherical, curved, or flat projection surfaces.