13Jun

What is ADS-B?

Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS–B) is a surveillance technology in which an aircraft determines its position via satellite navigation or other sensors and periodically broadcasts it, enabling it to be tracked. The information can be received by air traffic control ground stations as a replacement for secondary surveillance radar, as no interrogation signal is needed from the ground. It can also be received by other aircraft to provide situational awareness and allow self-separation. ADS–B is "automatic" in that it requires no...

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09Feb

What is Electronic Conspicuity?

Electronic Conspicuity (EC) is an umbrella term for the technology that can help pilots, unmanned aircraft users and air traffic services be more aware of what is operating in surrounding airspace. EC includes the devices fitted to aircraft and unmanned systems that send out the information, and the supporting infrastructure to help them work together. Airborne transponders, air traffic data displays, ground-based antennas and satellite surveillance services are all examples of EC. The information generated by these can be presented...

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08Feb

What are avionics?

Aviation and electronics join to form the word avionics - basically it is equipment that is installed in aircraft or spacecraft to conduct hundreds of mission and flight management tasks, such as navigational systems, engine controls, flight control systems, communications, weather radar, lighting systems, threat detection, fuel systems, and performance monitors. Various types of electronic systems are employed in modern aircraft, spacecraft, and artificial satellites in order to accomplish their purpose and mission. As a general rule, the more complex the...

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13Dec

What does fly-by-wire mean?

FBW systems replace mechanical flight controls with an electronic interface to provide semi-automatic, computer-controlled flight control of aircraft. In response to the pilot’s movements, the aircraft’s flight control computers (FCCs) interpret those signals and adjust actuators that move the flight control surfaces. Sensors throughout the aircraft are also monitored by computers so that automated adjustments can be made to ensure the best possible flight. Using sensor data from active control sticks, the FCC creates “tactile cueing”, which provides pilots with tactile...

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17Nov

What is an Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI)

The Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI), often referred to as the Navigation Display (ND), replaces a number of different instruments found on a conventional aircraft instrument panel, and may be used to depict some or all of the following information: heading flown;heading or track selected;bearing to or from a navigation beacon (VHF Omnidirectional Radio Range (VOR), Distance Measuring Equipment (DME));lateral deviation from a selected track;ground speed, distance and time to go;aeronautical map;weather information; plus much more information according to design. Skybrary

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17Nov

What is a Primary Flight Display (PFD)

The Primary Flight Display (PFD) is an instrument which integrates and depicts, on a single display, all of the information that was historically presented on a number of individual electromechanical instruments. The PFD has evolved from a basic attitude indicator/flight director combination, presented electronically on a CRT, to an Electronic Attitude Direction Indicator (EADI) which, variable by manufacturer, added additional information such as heading, altitude and airspeed. The modern PFD displays virtually all of the information that the pilot requires to...

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17Nov

What is an Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS)

An Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) is a flight deck instrument display system in which the display technology used is electronic rather than electromechanical. A typical EFIS system comprises a Primary Flight Display (PFD) (Electronic Attitude Direction Indicator (EADI)) and an Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI) (Navigation Display). In some designs the two displays are integrated into one. Skybrary

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