Speel Praha adopts GL Studio for L-39NG trainer jet head-up display

The advanced trainer jet market will soon transform considerably with the introduction of Aero Vodochody Aerospace's L-39NG. Today, the DiSTI Corporation announced that Speel Praha selected its GL Studio SC (Safety Critical) HMI software tool to develop the L-39NG's Head-Up Display.

Based in the Czech Republic, Speel Praha's expertise in aviation displays extends over thirty years.

“When we were approached by our longtime partner, Aero Vodochody Aerospace, to build a Head-Up Display system for their L-39NG latest generation and advanced jet trainer, we didn't hesitate to turn to DiSTI and their Safety-Critical Graphics software generation toolchain,” stated Josef Slechta, Speel Praha avionics systems designer and HUD-39 project lead engineer.

Mr. Sletcha continued, “For the development of the software for our HUD-39 system we used DiSTI's GL Studio Safety Critical Embedded C++ Code Generator (SCEC++) suite. Thanks to this perfectly integrated toolchain, we were able to generate code and test within our simulator environment without having to use the target hardware platform. Only after all is thoroughly tested and verified that the code is deployed "as is" to our MP-39 Mission Processor on the L-39 aircraft. For our purposes, DiSTI toolchain turned out to be what we would call ‘rapid software development at its best’.

DiSTI engineers are true aficionados of 3D Computer Graphics engineering. Not only are the tools they provide state-of-the-art, powerful and user-friendly, but their great support with clever ideas also helped us get our HUD-39 graphics software up and running swiftly while speeding time to deployment.”

The L-39NG (next generation) is the latest multi-role, advanced jet trainer aircraft designed by Aero Vodochody Aerospace. AERO developed the plane to provide enhanced military flight training capabilities, offer superior maneuverability and extended range. Developed with GL Studio SC, the Head-Up Display (HUD) in the L-39NG offers suitability for both western and eastern types of fighters.

“Most prevalent in aerospace, the enhanced visibility that HUDs provide can be seen across many markets today,” said Christopher Giordano, VP of UX/UI Technology at DiSTI. “We are honored to have been working with Speel for many years from prototyping their Head-Up Display HMI to implementing the embedded safety-critical design on their target system.”

The L-39NG Head-Up Display (HUD) safety benefits include enhanced situational awareness for flight in limited (or night) visibility in the vicinity of visible terrain, water, ground-based obstacles, or other aircraft. By providing pilots with the ability to maintain an external lookout without losing access to critical aircraft instrumentation, the L-39NG's Head-Up Display improves visualization. The addition of GL Studio HUDs offers numerous safety benefits for aircraft pilots.