Considerations of Head Up Display field of view

This study arose because of a perception that a larger horizontal field of view for a Head Up Display installed in a civil transport was automatically. better. There is a lack of scientific analysis to confirm or deny this view. The study addresses three situations:- Crosswind Landings, Curved Approaches and Runway Exit Angle and each situation is assessed with three HUD FoV's. It was found that the Crosswind situation was limited by the aircraft landing restrictions not HUD Field of View. The curved approaches gave a more mixed conclusion but in general the time that the glideslope was within the FoV was not significantly enhanced with a 40degree FoV HUD compared to the nominal 36degree. The runway exit angle analysis showed that alternative means must be found to show the turn-off point rather than reliance on the FoV.