5.1 Electronic instrument systems Flashcards
the earleist Air speed indicators consisted of what
flexible bamboo strip or metal spring with a paddle on the end. (as speed increased airflow pushed paddle rearwards)
what period saw major advancements in instrumentation and allowed pilots to fly and night and in all weather conditions
WW1 and the first air mail delivery in the 1920s
instrumentation in an aircraft provides what
information about its position and speed
the front instrument panel contains what
all instruments needed to fly the aircraft safely and is positioned directly in the pilots eyeline
Basic six arrangement (instruments) create a “picture “ of an aircrafts flight condition what are they
- Airspeed indicator
- Gyro horizon indicator, now called the attitude director indicator (ADI)
- Altimeter
- turn & bank indicator or coordinator
- Direction indicator now called Horizon situation indicator (HSI)
- Vertical speed indicator
all aircraft instrument layouts conform to standards set by who
ICAO
Basic T arrangement makes dials easy to read and help pilot establish aircrafts attitude and position
.
four key indicators in the T arrangement are
Airspeed indicator
Attitude director indicator
altimeter
Horizontal situation indicator
Electronic instrument systems (EIS) have many advantages over their analoue predecessors including
exchange of images between units in the case of a display failure. removal of “clutter” on screen.
some other advantages of EIS over analogue include
- coloured displays
- fewer components are needed
- all display units for EIS are the same type.
there are many different EIS, including
- Electronic flight instrument system (EFIS)
- Engine indicating and crew alerting system (EICAS)
- Electronic centralised aircraft monitoring (ECAM)
on a cockpit control panel, pushbutton commands are processor controlled.
-selected data is transmitted via data buses to display systems.
.
calculations in the system are made by what
CPU (central processing unit)
electronic units are interconnected by what
digital data buses
required data is transmitted digitally by ARINC 429 buses :
- via display data buses to CPU- controlled CRT or LCD
- via digital data buses too a printer for a hard-copy printout
- in digital form to a radio transmitter, which sends data, which sends data to a ground receiver
reading the indication in bright sunlight used to be more difficult on EIDS monitors than on analogue indicators. until what solution
brighter, more modern displays
the EFIS displays are controlled by what panels
EFIS control panels and lighting/loudspeaker control panels
(GGs) graphics generators transmit video signals to what
display units (DUs)
(SSPs) source select panels and centre display control panel supply what
additional controls for the display system
a modern Electronic attitude and direction indicator (EADI) displays
- pitch and roll info
- ground speed
- airspeed
- flight director information
- glide slope and localiser deviation
- numerous warning and status messages,
the numerous warning and status messages dispayed on EADI include
- pitch and roll mode
- nav aid selected
- radio altitude
- altitude alert
- decision height
EHSI stands for
Electronic horizontal situation indicator
a modern EHSI presents a selectable and dynamic colour of the aircraft’s position and heading in relation to the nav aids around it
.
EHSI items include
- magnetic display
- radio steering commands for VOR or ILS
- way points, airports and nav aids
- distance to go
- ILS steering info
EHSI can be switched by pilot to display either…
a full compass rose or a portion of the compass rose ahead of the aircraft. commonly called the ARC or sector display
if an EHSI or EADI fails what happpens
a composite mode on the remaining display shows combined elements of both displays.
ECAM is a system used by who
(ELECTRONIC CENTRALISED AIRCRAFT MONITOR)
Airbus
Engine parameters need to be displayed continuously
Top display shows system status messages, warnings and corrective actions
Lower screen shows pictorial diagrams of systems
EICAS is a system which is used by who
(ENGINE INDICATING AND CREW ALERTING SYSTEM)
Boeing
The lower screen is usually blank during normal flights
And upper screen displays primary engine parameters
In both EICAS and ECAM warnings are accompanied by
Master warning lights.
The two systems are becoming more alike on modern aircraft
Older aircraft used CRT for their displays and have now been supplanted by
LCD as they are brighter
LCD have serval advantages over CRT including
More robust
Produce far less heat
Require lower and simpler power supply
All EIS have brightness set initially by the pilot then they adjust automatically by
Using photocells, to adapt to the ambient light levels in the cockpit
An MCDU Multi- function control display unit are used as
primarily as an interface between the pilot and the flight management system
They also act as interface to the on-board maintenance system
In case of total failure of the EIS what is implemented
A standby artificial horizon, airspeed indicator and altimeter are fitted in view of both pilots
What does EIS use for its displays
Cathode Ray tube (CRT) and liquid crystal display (LCD)
EIS allows manual transfer of displays
PFD with ND
Secondary ECAM with ND
