Avionics
They required a two-seat aircraft with a second crewman who operated a telegraph key to spell out messages in Morse code.
[5] Britain's 1940 decision to share its radar technology with its U.S. ally, particularly the magnetron vacuum tube, in the famous Tizard Mission, significantly shortened the war.
Flight control systems (fly-by-wire) and new navigation needs brought on by tighter airspaces, have pushed up development costs.
The Joint Planning and Development Office put forth a roadmap for avionics in six areas:[8] The Aircraft Electronics Association reports $1.73 billion avionics sales for the first three quarters of 2017 in business and general aviation, a 4.1% yearly improvement: 73.5% came from North America, forward-fit represented 42.3% while 57.7% were retrofits as the U.S. deadline of January 1, 2020 for mandatory ADS-B out approach.
International standards for avionics equipment are prepared by the Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee (AEEC) and published by ARINC.
Avionics installation is a critical aspect of modern aviation, ensuring that aircraft are equipped with the necessary electronic systems for safe and efficient operation.
These systems encompass a wide range of functions, including communication, navigation, monitoring, flight control, and weather detection.
The process typically involves: Avionics installation is governed by strict regulatory frameworks to ensure the safety and reliability of aircraft systems.
These include guidelines for: The field of avionics has seen rapid technological advancements in recent years, leading to more integrated and automated systems.
Older ground-based Navigation systems such as VOR or LORAN requires 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.
The first hints of glass cockpits emerged in the 1970s when flight-worthy cathode-ray tube (CRT) screens began to replace electromechanical displays, gauges and instruments.
Autopilot was first invented by Lawrence Sperry during World War I to fly bomber planes steady enough to hit accurate targets from 25,000 feet.
Nowadays most commercial planes are equipped with aircraft flight control systems in order to reduce pilot error and workload at landing or takeoff.
Modern displays allow weather information to be integrated with moving maps, terrain, and traffic onto a single screen, greatly simplifying navigation.
[12] In‑plane weather avionics are especially popular in Africa, India, and other countries where air-travel is a growing market, but ground support is not as well developed.
[13] 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.
As with aircraft management, the bigger sensor platforms (like the E‑3D, JSTARS, ASTOR, Nimrod MRA4, Merlin HM Mk 1) have mission-management computers.
While aircraft communications provide the backbone for safe flight, the tactical systems are designed to withstand the rigors of the battle field.
UHF, VHF Tactical (30–88 MHz) and SatCom systems combined with ECCM methods, and cryptography secure the communications.
Maritime support aircraft can drop active and passive sonar devices (sonobuoys) and these are also used to determine the location of enemy submarines.
