Avionics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Avionics is a portmanteau of "aviation" and "electronics". It comprises electronic systems for

use on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft, comprising communications, navigation and
the display and management of multiple systems. It also includes the hundreds of systems that
are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles, these can be as simple as a search light for a police
helicopter or as complicated as the tactical system for an Airborne Early Warning platform.

Contents
[hide]

 1 History
 2 Main categories
o 2.1 Aircraft avionics
 2.1.1 Communications
 2.1.2 Navigation
 2.1.3 Monitoring
 2.1.4 Aircraft flight control systems
 2.1.5 Collision-avoidance systems
 2.1.6 Weather systems
 2.1.7 Aircraft management systems
o 2.2 Mission or tactical avionics
 2.2.1 Military communications
 2.2.2 Radar
 2.2.3 Sonar
 2.2.4 Electro-Optics
 2.2.5 ESM/DAS
o 2.3 Aircraft Networks
o 2.4 Police and Air Ambulance
 3 See also
 4 Notes
 5 References
 6 External links

[edit] History
The term avionics is believed to have been coined by journalist Philip J. Klass.[1] Avionics was
pioneered in the 1970s, driven by military need rather than civil airliner development. Military
aircraft had become flying sensor platforms, and making large amounts of electronic equipment
work together had become the new challenge. Today, avionics as used in military aircraft almost
always forms the biggest part of any development budget. Aircraft like the F-15E and the now
retired F-14 have roughly 80 percent of their budget spent on avionics. Most modern helicopters
now have budget splits of 60/40 in favour of avionics.[citation needed]

The civilian market has also seen a growth in cost of avionics. Flight control systems (fly-by-
wire) and new navigation needs brought on by tighter airspaces, have pushed up development
costs. The major change has been the recent boom in consumer flying. As more people begin to
use planes as their primary method of transportation, more elaborate methods of controlling
aircraft safely in these high restrictive airspaces have been invented.[citation needed]

[edit] Main categories

[edit] Aircraft avionics

The cockpit of an aircraft is a major location for avionic equipment, including control,
monitoring, communication, navigation, weather, and anti-collision systems. The majority of
aircraft power their avionics using 14 or 28 volt DC electrical systems; however, larger, more
sophisticated aircraft (such as airliners or military combat aircraft) have AC systems operating at
400 Hz and 115 volt rather than the more common 50 and 60 Hz of North American home
electrical devices.[2] There are several major vendors of flight avionics, including Honeywell
(which now owns Bendix/King, Baker Electronics, Allied Signal, etc.), Rockwell Collins, Thales
Group, Garmin, Avidyne Corporation, and Narco Avionics.

[edit] Communications

Communications connect the flight deck to the ground and the flight deck to the passengers. On-
board communications are provided by public address systems and aircraft intercoms.

The VHF aviation communication system works on the airband of 118.000 MHz to

136.975 MHz. Each channel is spaced from the adjacent ones by 8.33 kHz. VHF is also used for
line of sight communication such as aircraft-to-aircraft and aircraft-to-ATC. Amplitude
Modulation (AM) is used, and the conversation is performed in simplex mode. Aircraft
communication can also take place using HF (especially for trans-oceanic flights) or satellite
communication.

See also: Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System

[edit] Navigation

Main article: Radio navigation

Navigation is the determination of position and direction on or above the surface of the Earth.
Avionics can use satellite-based systems (such as GPS and WAAS), ground-based systems (such
as VOR or LORAN), or any combination thereof. Older avionics required a pilot or navigator to
plot the intersection of signals on a paper map to determine an aircraft's location; modern
systems calculate the position automatically and display it to the flight crew on moving map
displays.

[edit] Monitoring

Main article: Glass cockpit

Glass cockpits started to come into being with the Gulfstream G-IV private jet in 1985. Display
systems provide sensor data that allows the aircraft to fly safely. Much information that
previously was displayed on mechanical gauges now appears on electronic displays in newer
aircraft.

[edit] Aircraft flight control systems

Main article: Aircraft flight control systems

Airplanes and helicopters have means of automatically controlling flight. They reduce pilot
workload at important times (like during landing, or in hover), and they make these actions safer
by 'removing' pilot error. The first simple auto-pilots were used to control heading and altitude
and had limited authority on things like thrust and flight control surfaces. In helicopters, auto
stabilization was used in a similar way. The old systems were electromechanical in nature until
very recently.

The advent of fly by wire and electro-actuated flight surfaces (rather than the traditional
hydraulic) has increased safety. As with displays and instruments, critical devices which were
electro-mechanical had a finite life. With safety critical systems, the software is very strictly
tested.

[edit] Collision-avoidance systems

Main article: Aircraft collision avoidance systems

To supplement air traffic control, most large transport aircraft and many smaller ones use a
TCAS (Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System), which can detect the location of nearby
aircraft, and provide instructions for avoiding a midair collision. Smaller aircraft may use
simpler traffic alerting systems such as TPAS, which are passive (they do not actively interrogate
the transponders of other aircraft) and do not provide advisories for conflict resolution.

To help avoid collision with terrain (CFIT), aircraft use systems such as ground-proximity
warning systems (GPWS), which use radar altimeters as a key element. One of the major
weaknesses of GPWS is the lack of "look-ahead" information, because it only provides altitude
above terrain "look-down". In order to overcome this weakness, modern aircraft use the Terrain
Awareness Warning System (TAWS).

[edit] Weather systems

Main article: Weather radar
Main article: Lightning detector

Weather systems such as weather radar (typically Arinc 708 on commercial aircraft) and
lightning detectors are important for aircraft flying at night or in instrument meteorological
conditions, where it is not possible for pilots to see the weather ahead. Heavy precipitation (as
sensed by radar) or severe turbulence (as sensed by lightning activity) are both indications of
strong convective activity and severe turbulence, and weather systems allow pilots to deviate
around these areas.

Lightning detectors like the Stormscope or Strikefinder have become inexpensive enough that
they are practical for light aircraft. In addition to radar and lightning detection, observations and
extended radar pictures (such as NEXRAD) are now available through satellite data connections,
allowing pilots to see weather conditions far beyond the range of their own in-flight systems.
Modern displays allow weather information to be integrated with moving maps, terrain, traffic,
etc. onto a single screen, greatly simplifying navigation.

[edit] Aircraft management systems

There has been a progression towards centralized control of the multiple complex systems fitted
to aircraft, including engine monitoring and management. Health and Usage Monitoring Systems
(HUMS) are integrated with aircraft management computers to give maintainers early warnings
of parts that will need replacement.

The Integrated Modular Avionics concept proposes an integrated architecture with application
software portable across an assembly of common hardware modules. It has been used in fourth
generation jet fighters and the latest generation of airliners.

[edit] Mission or tactical avionics

Military aircraft have been designed either to deliver a weapon or to be the eyes and ears of other
weapon systems. The vast array of sensors available to the military is used for whatever tactical
means required. As with aircraft management, the bigger sensor platforms (like the E-3D,
JSTARS, ASTOR, Nimrod MRA4, Merlin HM Mk 1) have mission management computers.

Police and EMS aircraft also carry sophisticated tactical sensors.

[edit] Military communications

While aircraft communications provide the backbone for safe flight, the tactical systems are
designed to withstand the rigours of the battle field. UHF, VHF Tactical (30-88 MHz) and
SatCom systems combined with ECCM methods, and cryptography secure the communications.
Data links like Link 11, 16, 22 and BOWMAN, JTRS and even TETRA provide the means of
transmitting data (such as images, targeting information etc.).

[edit] Radar
Airborne radar was one of the first tactical sensors. The benefit of altitude providing range has
meant a significant focus on airborne radar technologies. Radars include Airborne Early Warning
(AEW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), and even Weather radar (Arinc 708) and ground
tracking/proximity radar.

The military uses radar in fast jets to help pilots fly at low levels. While the civil market has had
weather radar for a while, there are strict rules about using it to navigate the aircraft.

[edit] Sonar

Dipping sonar fitted to a range of military helicopters allows the helicopter to protect shipping
assets from submarines or surface threats. Maritime support aircraft can drop active and passive
sonar devices (Sonobuoys) and these are also used to determine the location of hostile
submarines.

[edit] Electro-Optics

Electro-optic systems include Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR), and Passive Infrared Devices
(PIDS). These are all used to provide imagery to crews. This imagery is used for everything from
Search and Rescue through to acquiring better resolution on a target.

[edit] ESM/DAS

Electronic support measures and defensive aids are used extensively to gather information about
threats or possible threats. They can be used to launch devices (in some cases automatically) to
counter direct threats against the aircraft. They are also used to determine the state of a threat and
identify it.

[edit] Aircraft Networks

The avionics systems in military, commercial and advanced models of civilian aircraft are
interconnected using an avionics databus. Common avionics databus protocols, with their
primary application, include:

 Aircraft Data Network (ADN): Ethernet derivative for Commercial Aircraft

 Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX): Specific implementation of ARINC
664 (ADN) for Commercial Aircraft
 ARINC 429: Generic Medium-Speed Data Sharing for Private and Commercial Aircraft
 ARINC 664: See ADN above
 ARINC 629: Commercial Aircraft (Boeing 777)
 ARINC 708: Weather Radar for Commercial Aircraft
 ARINC 717: Flight Data Recorder for Commercial Aircraft
 IEEE 1394b: Military Aircraft
 MIL-STD-1553: Military Aircraft
 MIL-STD-1760: Military Aircraft
  TTP - Time-Triggered Protocol: Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A380, Fly-By-Wire
Actuation Platforms from Parker Aerospace
 TTEthernet - Time-Triggered Ethernet: NASA Orion Spacecraft

[edit] Police and Air Ambulance

Police and EMS aircraft (mostly helicopters) are now a significant market. Military aircraft are
often now built with a role available to assist in civil disobedience. Police helicopters are almost
always fitted with video/FLIR systems to allow them to track suspects. They can also be fitted
with searchlights and loudspeakers.

EMS and police helicopters will be required to fly in unpleasant conditions, this may require
more aircraft sensors, some of which were until recently considered purely for military aircraft.