Honeywell researchers have added to or modified SmartView’s symbology, which is based on the company’s head-up display symbology, to help pilots more quickly and intuitively see where they are on the approach and where the airplane is going.

While current SmartView displays are meant for situational awareness only, the SVLM display with its new symbology and system monitors is “something you can navigate with,” said Honeywell engineer fellow Thea Feyereisen. “The new symbology elements really bring HUD-like precision to the head-down display. You still have the flight director to follow, but now you can use the display to help you translate the flight director.”

Like flying with a HUD, the pilot uses the flight-path vector (FPV) to fly the aircraft. The FPV points to where the aircraft is going, not where its nose is pointing, so it provides an indication of the true flight path.

Among SVLM’s new symbology is what Honeywell calls a “runway approach indicator,” or RAI. This includes a “super-sized runway” with an extended centerline; the RAI shows the correct visual trapezoid shape of the runway when the aircraft is on the glideslope. A vertical-deviation indicator is positioned to the right of the touchdown zone.

On the left of the zone are four small squares creating a “geometric PAPI” (precision approach path indicator). This is an independently calculated vertical path. Like a real PAPI, two red and two white lights mean you are on the correct glide angle. If you get three or four red lights you are low; if you get three or four white lights you are high.

Another new element of HUD symbology is the “conformal-lateral-deviation scale” (shown below the runway). This was certified on the HUD 2020 on Gulfstream more than a decade ago, said Feyereisen, but is new on the head-down display. Each one of the hash marks indicates one dot of localizer deviation, as also shown on the compass below it. As the airplane approaches the runway, the hash marks get farther apart. The airplane symbol shown with the conformal-lateral-deviation scale shows the crab angle in a crosswind.