SESSION-5 AT SOAR BY AVEMBSYS

     On 11th January 2011 we had our 5th session.The session began with introduction to operators, its precedences , its associativity and also branching and looping constructs in C were discussed by one of our friend.Then  our Tech-lead started  with the introduction of Avionics.Avionics is basically a combination of all electronics and electromechanical system and subsystems installed in an aircraft or attached to it.Avionics must be integrated in the conceptual design phase in the design of an aircraft. Aircrafts can be further classified as follows

1.Aircraft with ejection 

    Civil Aircraft [probability of catastrophic failure<10-9/flight hour].

2.Aircraft with ejection 

    Fighter Aircraft [probability of catastrophic failure<10-7/flight hour]

Then we discussed the various requirements of the avionics.The Avionics system requirements are as follows

1.Safety of flight

2.Mission of aircraft

3.Life cycle cost/cost of ownership

4.Certification is a major factor in avionics

Some important Abbreviations in Avionics were discussed and these are :

 1.FAA - Federal Aviation Administration

 2. DGCA - Director General of Civil Aviation 

 3. CEMILAC - Center for Military Airworthiness Certification            

A model of an Aircraft was shown to us  with its important features marked.

1.  GPS : Global Positioning Satellite
2. IFF : Identifying Friend or Foe. 
3. MLS : Microwave Landing System
4. Weather RADAR
5. Glideslope : Part of an ILS system
6. DME: Distance Measuring Equipment for giving the pilot an approx measurement of the slant distance from the runway.
7. Marker beacon: Mostly installed at both the ends of the runway, provides information to the pilot about the height, distance etc during final approach in low visibility (outer marker), during missed approach (middle marker) and during arrival at the runway beginning (inner marker).
8. VHF: Very High Frequency.
9. ATC transponder: A transmitter responder that interacts with RADAR frequency on ground giving the details about the A/C  positions.
10. TCAS
11. Radio altimeter: Tells the height of the plane.
12. Military VHF
13. Line TV

The next discussion in the session was about the Aircraft systems that are common to all the aircrafts.

•  Navigation
• Flight Control
• Engine Control
• Flight Management 
• Subsystem Monitoring and Control.
• Collision Avoidance.                     

The session then continued with more about the Aircraft Systems that are used specifically in the Military Aircrafts.

         1.Radar, Infrared and other target systems.

         2. Weapon Management.

         3.Electronic Counter Measures.

         4.Mission Planning.

         5.Formation Flights.

There was a brief about the Regulatory and Advisory Agencies in the Aviation Industry. These Agencies are:
         ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organization
         FAA – Federal Aviation Administration
         FCC – Federal Communication Commission
         RTCA – Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics
         DO-178B : Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipments
         DO-254 : Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware
         ARINC – Aeronautical Radio Inc
         EORACAE – European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment

Two types of avionic Systems were discussed.

   Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS)

   There are seven modes of EGPWS, and these modes are.

1.  Excessive Descent Rate.
2.  Excessive Closure to Terrain.
3. Altitude Loss after Takeoff
4. Unsafe Terrain Clearance
5. Excessive Glide slope Deviation.
6. Advisory Callout/ Bank angle
7. Wind Shear Alerting

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

•        Traffic Advisories(TAs)-assist pilot in the visual search for intruder aircrafts.
•        Resolution Advisories(RAs)-resolve potential mid-air collisions.