Session 5 at SOAR by Avembsys

This session was about 

Avionics - Aviation + Electronics

Session started with the brush up in C programming,a quite an interesting discussion we had regarding the associativity and precedence in evaluation of the expressions.Then our SME joined us and enquired how the given assignment is going on.
Some interesting facts :

Probability of catastrophic failure < 10^-9 / flight hour    for Aircrafts without ejection and

Probability of catastrophic failure < 10^-7 / flight hour    for Aircrafts with ejection

The basic principals regarding avionics are

• Safety
• Mission of the Aircraft
• Life cycle cost
• Certification

Few avionics systems placed over a multipurpose aircraft are

• Military IFF (Identify Friend or Foe)
• MLS ( Microwave Landing System )
• Weather Radar
• Glide Slope
• Marker Beacon
• DME ( Distance Measurement Equipment )
• VHF 2/Military UHF
• ATC transponder
• Tcas
• TACAN
• Radio Altimeter
• Live TV
• ADF (Automatic Direction Finder )
• UHF SATCOM

We then discussed on the avionics systems found on most of the aircrafts.

• Navigation system
• Communication System
• Flight control
• Engine Control / Throttle Management
• Flight Management
• Subsystem monitoring and control
• Collision Avoidance
• Weather Detection
• Emergency Location Transmitter ( ELT )

With so much of theory, it was getting a bit irritating but our tactful tech leader showed us how professional coding is. This was nothing similar of what we have seen till now. So complex yet elegant with a strict conformation with the standards which is detailed in a lengthy document.

        Back to the subject under discussion,we discussed about the varios additional  systems found on a military aircraft like

• RADAR,infrared and Target Sensors
• Weapon management
• Electronic Counter measures
• Mission planning
• Formation flight

        We were then introduced to various regulatory and advisory agencies.

• ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organization,Canada.
• FAA - Federal Aviation Administration,USA
• FCC - Federal Communication Commission
• RTC - Requirements and Technical concepts in aviation
• ARINC - Aeronautical Radio Incorporated
• SAE - Society for Automotive Engineers
• IEEE - Institution on Electrical and Electronic Engineers
• JAA - European Joint Aviation Authorities
• EUROCAE - European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment
• DGCA - Director General of Civil Aviation

The Aircaft and its Mission drive the Systems

We then had the analysis of two systems as examples


The EGPWS ( Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System ) provides caution and warning to the pilot about terrain around the aircraft so that pilot can take necessary action. There are seven modes:

1. Excessive Descent Rate
2. Excessive Closure to terrain
3. Altitude loss after takeoff
4. Unsafe terrain clearence
5. Excessive glideslope deviation
6. Advisory Callout/Backangle
7. Wind Shear Alerting

The next system discussed was the TCAS( Traffic Collision Avoidance System ). It has two types of alerts:

1. Traffic Advisories ( TAs ) - assists pilot in the visual search for other aircrafts.
2. Resolution Advisories ( RAs ) - resolves potential mid-air collisions.