The Avionic History

In the previous topics, I have been discuss how the principal why the aircraft can fly so in this new topic I will explain how the avionics have been developed and what is the advantages for the crew and the pilot its self... Seems the avionics is not weird anymore in the flyer's or aviation enthusiasm and for those who still unfamiliar with this kind of thing, actually avionics is a electronics device where usual its put in the cockpits and now a days the avionics from it self have been develop more complex instead in the beyond time.

Once upon a time, the aircraft are still depends on the aviator eyes to make the plane headings and land in the safety destination. During that time, the aircraft are still flying in the low altitude and low airspeed so that the pilots are using a river, train track, mount as a checkpoint. A conclusion, the aircraft should be operate in the day light and a clear weather, if not there will be a same as suicide mission. In the other words, pilots should have their own brave instead they have their good eyes. For the first Flyer aircraft was airborne, there will be no instrument such as Airspeed indicator, VSI or the others, its only depends on joysticks, concurrently with the improvement of the technology, the first instrument where have found an airspeed instrument indicator, compass and the clock use for a pilot to navigate as a dead reckoning. The last instrument which has been installed on it something like a water pass and finally its change into a artificial horizon in the last decade of 1920. Since the first war world, the aviation business have been increasing and it cause the aircraft have to fly during the night time, with that current condition the avionics from it self have to do a lot of improvement to enable the aircraft could able to operate in the night time and from here its born a several of engineer profession in the cockpit such as RO ( Radio Operator ), FE ( Flight Engineer ) & Navigator.

The example of the aircraft, where got this kind of profession is a DC-3 Dakota. There will be include five aviator, which is Pilot, Co-Pilot, Radio Operator, Flight engineer & Navigator. Navigator will command the whole route for the pilot to heading the aircraft through all the checkpoint and land safely in a destination. If we observe the Dakota from its self, there will be a cube above the aircraft called as an astrodrome, whereby the function for the navigator is to see the position of a stars, sextant sightseer and count the position of the aircraft using the star. The conclusion of the navigator job, is seems like a sailor. Moving to the Radio Operator, where the job is to sending the morse code communication from the aircraft to the ATC. Why using a morse code?? During that time the communication connection to the ground controller is very unstable and irregularity of radio waves. Coming to the last part, which is Flight Engineer where the job is to observe the oil pressure of the engine, the RPM (Rotation Per Minute) of the engine, the fuel flow and the temperature as well. Overlapped with the improvement of a modern technology, Navigator are eliminate from this part since have been found a radar and others navigation device. Same things are happened to Flight Engineer & Radio Operator, because of the conversation that have been done by a pilot directly to the ATC. Temporary, FE ( Flight Engineer ) is still using in the complex avionics, such as Boeing 707. Finally in the early decade of 1980, the man who have to responsible to take care all over the aircraft is Pilot and Co pilot with the term of " two men cockpit " technology, which apply in the A 300 B4.

GLASS COCKPIT

Coming to the new century, the old mechanics avionics gauge are starting to be developed and changed by the modern technology since its come to 1980 and 1990. Fly by wire will take over the mechanism controls and the glass cockpit will take over the gauge instrument. From the above topics, Glass didn't means the whole cockpit were built in a glass structure, but instead of the whole instrument have been made fully digitalis computerize, its absolute different if we compare with the gauge instrument in mechanism working. For the example: An airspeed indicator, when its detect by the censor, the number of the airspeed will show in the airspeed indicator instrument in mechanism way, in the other words if the mechanism are damaged automatically the showing number will be fault despite the no of airspeed where received by the censor is true. Whereas the Glass Cockpit, the data which has been received by the censor will be process through the computer first and then the output will be display in the monitor screen called as CRT ( Cathode Ray Tube ) where the next generation is a LCD ( Liquid Crystal Display ). Since it was a LCD, so some of instrument indicator will be fixed into 1 screen.

Example of the aircraft where are using the LCD monitor is A 320. In A 320 there will be a six 8 * 8 inch LCD monitor which is a pair of PFD ( Primary Flight Display ), a pair of ND ( navigation Display ), E/WD ( Engine Warning System ) & ECAM ( Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitoring ). Each of these Information system will have their own specific information in it, which will elaborate in below:

1. PFD ( Primary Flight Display ) displaying : Airspeed indicator, Heading indicator, Artificial Horizon indicator, Altitude indicator, FMA ( Flight Mode Annunciator ), ILS [( Instrument Landing system ) Guidance ILS/GS ] and Radio altitude

PFD ( Primary Flight Display )

2. ND ( Navigation Display ) Displaying : TAS ( True Airspeed ), GS ( Ground Speed ), Wind and speed direction, TCAS ( Traffic Collision Avoidance System ), way points symbols, Airports symbols, NDB, VOR , & flight plan tracked lines

ND ( Navigation Display )

3. E/WD ( Engine warning system ) Displaying : Engine Information such as ( N1, EPR, N2, FF ), Thrust Mode ( only on Airbus aircraft ) such as IDL, CL, FLX & TO-GA, Thrust percent value, FOB ( Fuel on Board ), Flaps indicator position, Warning alert area such as ( Fasten seat belt sign, No smoking sign , Take off checklist and landing checklist information ), & Status message area.

E/WD ( Engine Warning Display )
Upper ECAM

4. ECAM ( Electronics Centralized Aircraft Monitoring ) Displaying : Door page, Engine page, Wheel page, Flight Control page, Air Bleed page, Cabin pressure page, Electricity page, Fuel page & Hydraulics page.

ECAM ( Electronics Centralized Aircraft Monitoring )
Flight Control Page
NB : Lower ECAM

Here are some comparison picture between the Glass Cockpit and Gauge instrument:

GLASS COCKPIT ( A33o-200/300 )


INSTRUMENT GAUGE ( B 737-200 )


Rolling out,

Dan,s.