I’m not even sure if this is what it’s called. I’m talking about the glass lens directly below the HUD screen. I assume it generates the images on tthis screen. I know the glass itself is clear, but what color is the surface under this glass? This particular aircraft is an F-18. I know on some Soviet aircraft that this color is usally a yellow or light green.
Thanks.
Dana,
The HUD lens is very likely coated with an anti-reflective and light transmissive coating which can vary widely in color and in depth of hue. Some of the most common used in civilian optical applications might be green, blue, gold, red , purple and orange. They have an almost mirrored appearance to some of the coatings, and others are nearly invisible. If I were to guess for a HUD lens on an aircraft, I would expect it would be more on the invisible side so as to minimize any internal reflections the pilot would have to look through.
Any help??
Brian~
The generator, which is akin to a CRT, should be black or grey when not in use, like your computer monitor when it is turned off. In use the colour would depend on the colour of the phospor or LCD panel. The newest ones are a colour display; although most of the photos I’ve seen of these appear to be a green tint.
Hope this helps,
Bruce
Thanks for the info guys. [:D]
Mr. Bones,
Like all things, the color of the HUD projection lens depends on which aircraft HUD you are trying to replicate. The F-15E HUD projection lens is kind of square and a yellow-orange color. The actual HUD glass in front of the Pilot has a very noticable green tint to it. The F-16CG wide-angle HUD by GEC Avionics, same. The closest thing I could find to simulate the HUD projection lens was an unexposed piece of 35mm print film. I believe it is the emullsion side (the flat yellow-orange side, not the shiny side). For an SU-27, a model railroad lens made by MV Lens (I think that is the name of the company) will work great, a bright yellow doing the trick for you. Mr. Cuda could tell you more about the Hog as I have not had a lot of experience with Hogs. He is a crew chief if I remember right and he would see one almost every day. For F-14/F-18s, I will take a look for you this week as I have some business over at Oceana NAS. A good friend of mine is a squadron cc. The F-14D HUD was installed on all of the F-14Bs but not the F-14As as there are so few of them now. I cannot tell you about the Hornet without looking up a few things. You will find two roll of 24 exposure print film, one exposed and processed and one unprocessed, can be used for HUDs and 1960s-1980s radar screens. Hope this helps.