Chapter 22 – HUD

In trying to lean forward as much as possible on the build, without of course having it on hand locally to build, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Hudly HUD unit from GRT Avionics.

Having the HUD on hand actually helps immensely in my planning because I’ll need to have access through the aluminum instrument panel to run a couple rather thick wires from behind the panel to the HUD projector unit that I intend to mount somewhere along the right longeron (see below).

I had the HUD unit sent to my friends’ house in NC, so I was a bit concerned when I first looked at the components that the combiner screen (below) might not fit well inside the canopy. However, the screen fits fine and looks like I’ll be able to align it well with my field of view, but I will need to create a sharper angle for the mounting tab to secure it at the correct angle for good viewing.

I then played around with the projector unit and tested out possible locations where I could mount it.  The optimum location for me would be right at the front edge of the forward canopy hinge.  

However, when I measured the distance between the projector face and the combiner glass screen it measured around 16 inches.  By looking at the mounting template provided by Hudly I could clearly see that their idea of a proper distance between the two was less than 8 inches.

I confirmed my concerns with Greg at GRT Avionics and we discussed possible solutions to optimize the install of this unit.  However, there may be a possibility that this unit just won’t work well with the configuration of the Long-EZ and I’ll have to send it back . . . I’ll see how the mounting configuration plays out early next week by firing up the unit and testing out the actual image. 

Overall, I’m very pleased with the location and configuration of the screen, I just need to ensure that I can deliver a good image to it to actually get the HUD unit to work as designed.

4 thoughts on “Chapter 22 – HUD

    • Thanks for the suggestion, but I’m going to stay clear of any structural mods around the panel structure. Any addition would affect the geometry between canopy and aft nose interface, and since that’s good now I’m not messing with it! ;)

      Cheers,
      Wade

  1. Hi Airdog,
    Thanks for posting your LongEZ build site and also this HUD feature. I am way behind you in refurbishing my LongEZ, but you have a lot of great helpful information. I’ve already saved your site into my favorites abd have been back a few times already. Keep up the good work, Thanks

    • Hey Howard,

      Thanks! Glad the site is helpful. Hopefully I’ll be adding a lot more to it regarding the build here in very short order.

      Good luck with you Long-EZ refurb!

      Cheers,
      Wade

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