SESSION 5 AT SOAR BY AVEMBSYS

                The fifth session was started with a brief explanation of C control statements by one of our friend like branching, looping and operators.

                Avionics is basically a combination of all electronics and electromechanical system and subsystems installed in an aircraft or attached to it. Though the avionics system is the central integrating technology but it cannot work on all it’s on. The various requirements of the avionics can be summarized into

1. Safety of the flight 
2. Mission of the aircraft 
3. Life cycle cost/cost of ownership
4. Certification for flying from their respective regulatory and advisory agencies

Avionics system requirements

1. Aircrafts without ejection Ex:civil aircraft probability of catastrophic failure<10^-9/flighthour
2. Aircrafts with ejection Ex:civil aircraft probability of catastrophic failure<10^-7/flighthour

Military aircraft->CEMILAC

 Military IFF(Identity friend or ford)-contains a special code to identify the aircraft is friend or enemy.

Next we saw the Avionic systems implemented on a multipurpose aircraft and listed out few of them as

• GPS : Global Positioning Satellite
• IFF : Identifying Friend or Foe ( it generates a specific code to differentiate between a civil or a fighter A/C 
• MLS : Microwave Landing System 
• Weather RADAR
• Glideslope : Part of an ILS system
• DME: Distance Measuring Equipment for giving the pilot an approx measurement of the slant distance from the runway.
• 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).
• VHF: Very High Frequency
• ATC transponder: A transmitter responder that interacts with RADAR frequency on ground giving the details about the A/C  positions.
• TCAS
• Radio altimeter: Tells the height of the plane.
• Military VHF
• Line TV
• ADF: Automatic Direction Finder
• VHF satcom, C-band satcom etc.

Some of the important systems apart from the above mentioned avionic systems that were discussed include:

• Various navigation systems used, like  
• Absolute navigation system
• Dead reckoning navigation system used during Visual Flight Rules.
• Mapping navigation system
• Flight control: consists of all the necessary mechanisms to control the direction of the A/C.
• Engine control
• FMS: Flight Management System stores the coordinates of en route way points and calculates the steering signals using GPS or INS to fly towards them. It can guide a plane in autopilot mode along the route and also can control the engine thrust.
• Subsystem monitoring and control
• Collision avoidance: The two important systems under these are TCAS and EGPWS.
• Weather detection using weather RADAR, lightening detection system.
• ELT: Emergency Location Transmitter gives an alarm either automatically or manually on experiencing a high-gravity impact on collision to ground or crashing. It is tuned to 121.5 (emergency frequency),243 and 406 MHz.These frequencies are monitored by search-and-rescue aircraft and by SARSAT-COSPAS satellites.
• Target sensors
• Weapon management, ECMs, mission planning and formation flight.

We then discussed about the various regulatory and advisory agencies in operation across the globe. Some of them being FAA, ICAO, FCC, RTCA, ARINC, DO-178A, DO-160D, SAE, IEEE, JAA, DGCA UK, DGAC France, DGCA India etc. After that we got an insight into anti collision system

•  EGPWS (Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System) which provides information about the surrounding terrain. We were also told about the seven modes of EGPWS i.e., excessive descent rate, excessive close to the terrain, altitude loss after take off, unsafe terrain clearance, excessive Glideslope deviation, bank angle and wind shear alerting.

   7 Modes of EGPWS

1. Mode 1-Excessive decent rate
2. Mode 2-Excessive closure to terrain
3. Mode 3-Altitude loss after take off
4. Mode 4-Unsafe terrain clearance
5. Mode 5-Excessive glideslope deviation
6. Mode 6-Advisory callout /bank angle
7. Mode 7-Wind shear alerting

•  TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) which consists of traffic advisories (TAs) and resolution advisories (RAs).

Later we were shown some professional coding which derived its variables from the airbus coding standards.

The session ended with a description about the indigenous LCA-Tejas by our TL.

SESSION 4 AT SOAR BY AVEMBSYS

               The 4^th session was on 7^th Jan 2011 which was very interesting and enthusiastic.The class was started with discussing of the projects.Then we started our session with the 'AIRCRAFT EVOLUTION' beginning with the time,the people tied bird’s wings to their hands and attempted to fly.

Some of the initial tecniques used for flying are,

1. Ornithopter by Leonardo Da Vinci 1500
2. Lighter than Aircraft by Francesco De Lana-Terzi 1867
3. Airplane by George cayley's model 1804 which flew sucessfully
4. Glider by Lilienthal 1896

              Next came the actual invention by the Orville and wilbur wright,the flyer first to develop a fully aerodynamic control system coupled to a powered aeroplane which was both flyable and maneuverable.

CLASSIFICATION OF AIRCRAFT'S

1)Based on the space they operate in:

                 The aircraft's fly up to tropopause with maximum height of 11km for commercial planes and some planes can fly up-to 35km height.Then our SME gave basic difference between an aircraft and a spacecraft. An aircraft flies within the planet with a particular height whereas a spacecraft is deigned to fly from one planet to other with special characteristics of

1.    Ability to generate huge thrust and instantaneous high speed
2.    Ability to withstand adverse temperature
3.    No atmospheric support to lift  and 
4.    Ability togreat escape velocity unlike aircrafts. 

               Space shuttles are reusable launch system and orbital spacecrafts developed for human spaceflight missions. They are launched like spacecrafts and land like planes.

2)Based on propulsion:
      It is categorized into 

i) Propelled-which operate with the help of an engine. Eg. Airplanes.

       ii)Unpropelled- It is driven by wind.Eg.airships and gliders.


Characteristics of unpropelled

1.    Amateur and primitive craft 
2.    No propulsion 
3.    Driven by winds(low cost) 
4.    Weather monitoring. 

3)Based on crew:

      It is categorized into 

            i)Manned- Airplanes

            ii)Unmanned-UAV/RPVwhose characteristics are small             size,light weights,low speeds,evades radar

4)Based on wings:

       The design of the wings is of 2 types

             i)Fixed wing-The one used in aircrafts to fly the flight

             ii)Rotary wing-The used in helicopters which uses the                            technique of VTOL and it can land anywhere.

Characteristics of Rotary wing

1.    Highly flexible and agile 
2.    Limited speed,operating range,load carrying,capacity and altitude. 
3.    Air ambulance,relief operations,VIP transportation

5)Based on the number of wings:

    These are categorized into

           i)Monoplane

          ii)Biplane

         iii)Tri-plane

6)Based on landing mod:

       The different landing modes that are presently adopted are

          i) Sea

         ii)Land

        iii)Amphibian-Ability to take off and landing in both land                                     and water

7)Based on engines: 

        The various categories under this are

            i)Propeller

           ii)Turbofan

          iii)Turbo pop 

8)Based on the number of engines:

           i)Single

          ii)Twin

         iii)Multiple engines.

9)Based on function:

           These aircrafts are designed to perform a particular tasks.They are categories as
           i)Fighter aircraft's-Usually used for military purpose                         Eg:F16,MIG29,F35 JSF,F/A-22 Raptor,Rafale C etc.
          ii)Bomber aircraft's-Jaguar,Saab Gripen,EurofighterTyphoon
         iii)Transport aircraft's-IL-76

Special types of aircraft:

           These types are used specially designed for the specific purpose with advanced technologies.


Reconnaisiance- SR 71 Blackbirds
AWACS-E-3 Sentry
Micro-plane
Aerial Refueling-KC-135 Stratotanker
Vertical Takeoff-Tilt-rotor aircraft
Stealth-stealth bomber B2(it is difficult to detect by any radar in the world).


            We were then told in brief about fly cars, Bermuda triangle and nuclear powered aircraft's.


            Later we saw the case study done on the Video of the Air Crash Investigation of Avianca Flight 052 that was scheduled to travel from Medellin, Colombia to New York, USA in 1990.  The crash happened due to lack of fuel at the end of a misunderstanding of the situation by the ATC at New York and the ATCs that were transferring the flight’s control from one ATC to another which made to lose the 40 precious mins.This case study made us understand the importance of specific words that must be used in Aviation and the unusual lack of efficiency in the manual air traffic scheduling systems in case of emergencies that led to a disaster.


           After the video,our Tech-lead, told about emergency landing should be told by the pilot instead of priority.
 In case of  emergency the pilot should report to the ATC like "I DECLARE EMERGENCY" or the pilot should say "MAYDAY" 3times...

       The case study was explained to us in detail by our tech-lead, with some description of the Holding Pattern that the flight was required to follow and also the TOGA (Take-Off and Go Around). The Discussion was ended with a brief on the ILS (Instrument Landing System) that uses two frequencies  of  90hz and 150hz to align the aircraft with the LOCALIZER and GLIDESLOPE.

      This session was very interesting and we learnt a lot about the aircraft's  and it helped us understand the importance of the air traffic scheduling systems and also gave an idea to think about the automation of aircraft scheduling to avoid th air crash.........

Have a nice day friends.........

SESSION 3 AT SOAR BY AVEMBSYS

              After the long while the day came that is on 5^th jan 2011 which was very enlightening and educational session on avembsys by our SME.At the start of the class we were refreshed about the basics of C language by our friend.

       

               Initially we started with "FLIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM" which is way of guide fed into the systems of aircrafts.Then we discussed about the electronic warfare which implemented the technique of  "ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE(EMP)" which is a high density electromagnetic pulse sent to any elementary missile which is not designed to withstand the high magnitude and is destroyed.

 

How does an aircraft fly? 

 

              Aerodynamic basics and some physical concepts such as Mass, Weight, Force, Momentum, Moment, Couple, Density, Viscosity, Temperature and Pressure. Then we had a brief concept on Gas Laws, Isothermal Process, Adiabatic Process, Standard Sea Level Conditions and Aircraft Terminologies such as Aircraft Attitude, Centre of Gravity, Aerodynamic Centre, Centre of Pressure.

 

Mach Number= speed of body   

                          speed of sound

 

              Next we deeply discussed about the air pressure that gives lift to plane.The device, Pitot tube, used to determine the aircraft speed and also referred to an air crash of Air France 447 that killed 228 people which resulted due to malfunctioning of pitot tube.The jet aircraft uses the technique of JET(small and fast stream of a fluid)which sucks the air and forms a fast jet and ejects it back of engine.

        

              Then we were introduced to the various elementary parts of a modern day aircraft.These parts play the vital role to drive and handle an aircraft starting from take-off to landing.They are,

1. Jet Engine-Generates the thrust
2. Cockpit-Command and control
3. Flaps-Change lift and drag
4. Slats-Change lift
5. Aileron-Change roll(Rotate body)
6. Spoilers-Change lift and drag(Rotate body)
7. Rudder-Change yaw(side-to-side)
8. Elevator-Change pitch(up-down)
9. Fuselage-Holds thing together
10. Horizontal Stabilizer-Control pitch
11. Vertical Stabilizer-Control yaw
12. Wings-Generate lift

               They help the aircraft to maintain its speed, altitude, attitude and direction.

After a lunch break, the session resumed with a small video session which was very interesting.It started with a video depicting VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) systems in Fighter Jet Planes. Also in the video session was the air crash of Airbus A320 due to fatal errors made by the pilot and authorities. The session proceeded to its end with the discussion of projects.The hardware interested students was assigned a project to design two transceiver systems, each interfaced with 8051 micro-controller and consisting of a keypad and LCD. The module also consists of a line sensor that monitors the two devices and responds if there is crossing. And for the software students we were given a brief about the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) and the V-Model that is being used on to develop Critical Systems.

   The next session is scheduled on Friday, 7^th January 2011 and the session going very interestingly we are eagerly waiting for the next session.............

       

SESSION 2 AT SOAR BY AVEMBSYS

              The second session by Avembsys was most interesting with awesome videos which we was seeing for the first time.And the TCAS instrument was very interesting.The field investigation of the air crashes is so interesting and am really happy that am part of it.
 

              The theme for the second session was 'ALMOST RIGHT IS 100%WRONG' which is a very important phrase that should be followed by everyone in the aerospace industry.

              The class started with the discussion on our blogs regarding the mistakes we made and we didnt take much serious about the grammer but we never expected our blogs being read thoroughly and the mistakes to be pointed out so well,which made us improve our grammer thanks to our SME.

              After that we were shown the importance of 'QUALITY CONTROL AND RELIABILITY' and its how it plays a major part in aerospace. After which the basics of embedded systems were discussed and a video was shown in which we were asked to identify different embedded systems that came up it. I was able to identify 6 systems.Then our SME discussed about various  'MISSILES' that are used in aircraft's.And although I knew about the heat seeker missiles, the working of LASER guided systems were relatively new to me and it was intriguing.And the counter measures taken for its avoidance was really interesting.  

             Then came the most interesting part of the session that is the aeroplanes! We were shown the 10 most dangerous landings after being told about the various hindrances that come across while landing during wind and strategies to overcome it. Even though I have closely witnessed many landings but crab approach was a completely new technique to me.We were then shown a video where a Boeing 747 missed the approach and performed TODA before landing safely.   

           

                Later we were shown the simulation video of US Airways 1549 that faced the critical situation due to which it had to land in the Hudson river, and its definitely a brilliant landing by the pilot which was awesome and the pilot saved lots of lives.We then saw 2 videos on the mid air collisions, the one without TCAS system and another with TCAS system. I was actually more curious with the collision that took place with the TCAS system as what my thoughts is that, if two planes, carrying TCAS systems does not communicate with each other, and if both the systems order the pilot to descend (or ascend), it would also result in a collision!..
 

                Avembsys class is going on very interestingly and we are egarly waiting for the next session.....Have a nice day guys........

SESSION 1 AT SOAR BY AVEMBSYS

              

               The first session was an introductory one where we were asked to tell about our own views regarding avembsys and what we expect from company.Our Subject Matter Expert(SME) told about various aspects of how an industry employees are categorized into various levels of progress based on SMART. We were thought to think Technically.

               The lecturer by our SME,basics of computer memory like RAM,cache memory, demand paging etc was really very useful. He also gave us a brief insight into some of the major reasons behind air crash around the globe. The class was very interactive when we were asked to present their ideas regarding the project work.The class was very interesting and interactive which empowered our confidence level of achieving something big.

             
               At the end I would like to conclude that my aim working under aircraft going to come true and I expect complete information how to be clear with aircraft...