Swiss avionics specialist Thommen Aircraft Equipment has launched replacement services for CRT and first-generation LCD displays in legacy aircraft. The company, which has previously completed several similar upgrade programs for customers, is now offering the service to the broader aftermarket.

“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, Thommen’s senior sales executive for North America. “Thommen has solutions available today to update and modernize most aging 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.”

According to Thommen, it can offer custom tailored replacement for legacy displays by cutting modern LCDs to virtually any size of display used in aircraft cockpits and mission systems. Leveraging its display manufacturing capabilities, Thommen will provide in-house lamination and assembly services at its facility in Muttenz, Switzerland, which features an ISO Class 5 certified cleanroom that uses aerospace-grade standards.

Thommen says these display upgrades enable analog information to be converted and processed to color and composite video signals, which provides accurate navigation and mission data to flight crews in a digital format.

Thommen also provides a range of aftermarket services for avionics under its EASA Part 145 approval, including inspection, repair, incorporation of service bulletins, and upgrades and reconfigurations.