The lightweight MyGoFlight SkyDisplay head-up display (HUD) should receive FAA certification "by late spring," according to MyGoFlight CEO Charles Schneider. The HUD receives flight information from installed avionics and “allows pilots to fly with their head up and eyes out,” according to the company. “The purpose of the HUD is to increase pilot safety, enhance visual awareness, and reduce pilot workload.”
The SkyDisplay HUD weighs less than two pounds and is small enough to fit in light aircraft through light jets. Although the HUD is non-conformal, which means that the symbology doesn’t exactly match the terrain in the outside world, the HUD’s flight path marker (FPM) and flight director cue mirror navigation and attitude information and thus can be used to fly instrument approaches with great precision.
Some delay in the certification program occurred during the U.S. government shutdown, and MyGoFlight has now elected to seek approval for its HUD as a portable electronic device, including certification for the installation provisions. Initial certification will be for Part 23 aircraft flown under Part 91 regulations. MyGoFlight will later help Part 135 operators obtain approval to fly with the HUD, according to Schneider.
MyGoFlight has sold 18 of its introductory batch of 25 positions, for installation in airplanes that include Cirrus singles and the Vision Jet, a Cessna 421 twin, a Citation Mustang and a CitationJet. The introductory price is $25,000, which includes installation by MyGoFlight in Denver, Colorado; training; and one year of the MGFCare warranty and software-upgrade program. Certain airplanes might also require an analog-to-digital converter, depending on the autopilot, Schneider said.