Swiss avionics manufacturer Thommen Aircraft Equipment has extended its display replacement services to the broader market for CRT (cathode-ray tube) and first-generation LCD display in legacy aircraft.

Thommen brings together the engineering and manufacturing expertise of more than a century of providing avionics solutions to fixed wing, rotorcraft and special mission type operations.

With Thommen display services it offers in-house lamination and assembly services, thanks to a state- of-the-art ISO class 5 certified cleanroom with aerospace-grade standards and display manufacturing capabilities. Modern LCDs can be tailor-cut to virtually any size of displays that are used in aircraft cockpits and mission systems. Thommen has completed multiple similar upgrade programmes replacing ageing CRT displays with modern LCD units and is now ready to offer this service to the broader marketplace.

“There are a lot of good avionics systems out there that have old CRT displays on them and are becoming increasingly more costly and difficult to keep airworthy, simply because of the numerous obsolescence issues those CRT units are facing,” says Pete Ring, senior sales executive for North America, “Thommen has solutions available today to update and modernise most ageing legacy CRT and older LCD displays, breathing new life into these venerable systems and airframes at a fraction of the cost of a brand-new full panel upgrade.”

In the upgrade process, analogue information is converted and processed to colour and composite video signals to provide accurate navigation and mission data to the flight crew in a digital format. Thommen's display solutions are fully functional, fully customisable and designed to meet the harsh requirements of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft operating in all environments thanks to the company's environmental qualifications that meet and exceed most mission requirements. Thommen also offers display mounting solutions, custom bezels and specialised finishes designed to meet any customers unique specifications.