Avionics Course

Avionics History - Introduction

Avionics Course
Avionics History - Introduction

Paul Hopff
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Avionics

• What is meant by « avionics »?

• How aviation evolved from 1910 till today
• Avionics in civil aircraft today

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Avionics History - Introduction

« Avionics »?

• AVIONICS is a general term which literally means AVIation electrONICS.

• In essence it comprises all electronic systems designed for use on aircraft. At
a basic level this comprises communications, navigation and the display and
management of multiple systems.
• It also comprises the literally hundreds of electronic systems that are fitted to
aircraft to fulfill specific tasks.
• The domain of avionics and its impact on aerospace technology has grown at
an amazing rate. Initially the ancillary part of an aircraft, avionics has evolved
to an overall presence into aircraft of today, to the extend that in an
increasingly number of aircraft types it is the avionics that is really flying the
aircraft, the pilot “instructing” and supervising the electronics to make the
aircraft do what is wanted.

1911 - First Wireless Air to Ground Transmission

• The world’s first wireless transmission from an aircraft occurred over West Palm Beach,
Florida in February 1911 with John Alexander Douglas McCurdy at the controls.
• Designed and built by Oscar C. Rosen in 1911, this wireless transmitter is the oldest known
surviving example of airborne radio. It was carried aboard a Curtiss aircraft piloted by J.A.D.
McCurdy. The airplane could not carry the additional weight of Rosen, so the telegraph key
was attached to the control wheel, and McCurdy sent the message.

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1912 – ITU – Radio callsigns

• At the third International Radiotelegraph

Conference (London, 1912) of the ITU
(International Telecommunications Union),
the first radio callsigns were assigned and
approved.
• In 1919 it was also the ITU that co-founded
the ICAN/CINA (International Commission
for Air Navigation / Comité International),
an early predecessor of the current ICAO.
• The ICAN defined an initial set of codes.
Belgium was assigned the code “O-B”. The
letter “B” clearly referred to Belgium. The
first aircraft that flew around with these
codes was the Fokker D-VII “O-BEBE”
(1919). This was changed into “OO-” in
1929.
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1919 – First transatlantic crossing

• Vickers Vimy, flown by John Alcock & Arthur Whitten Brown
• From St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland
• The aircraft was equipped with a radio communication unit, fed by a ram air turbine.

Clifden (Ireland)

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Avionics History - Introduction

1929 – Dornier Do X

1931 – Brussels Airport (Haren / Evere) – Radio facilities

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1937 – British Overseas Airways flying boat

• Short Empire flying boat.

• Radio communication and navigation
equipment at a dedicated working position.

1940 – Boeing 314 flying boat (Pan American airways)

• 5-man cockpit:
• Two pilots
• Navigator
• Radio-operator (marconist)
Note the radio equipment!
• Flight engineer

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1940 – Other applications…

Junkers Ju 88

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Messerschmitt Me 110

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1940 – Other applications…

Begin of modular avionics

EK = Empfänger Kurzwelle
SK = Sender Kurzwelle
SL = Sender Langewelle

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1940 – Autopilot (Honeywell)

• This autopilot essentially consisted of two spinning

gyroscopes located in cases attached to the
airplane.
• One gyroscope, called the Flight Gyro, was
located near the aircraft's center of gravity (10)
and detected changes in roll and pitch.
• The Directional Gyro, located in the bombsight
stabilizer (1), detected changes in yaw.
• Using a series of electrical signals, the
C-1 Autopilot controlled the aircraft with servos
connected to the control surfaces (15, 18, 19).

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War times...

• The Honeywell C-1 Autopilot was an

electronic-mechanical system used to
lessen pilot fatigue by automatically
flying an airplane in straight and level
flight.
• It could also be used to fly the aircraft
through gentle maneuvers.
• When combined with the Norden
bombsight, it created the stability
necessary to bomb targets accurately
from high altitude.

Installed on the Boeing B-17, B-29 and Consolidated B-24 Liberator 14

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1943 – Radar – FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 (Germany)

FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2, operating on a

frequency of 90 MHz with a peak power of 2,5 kW.
Instrumented range: 8 km.

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1944 – Boeing B-29 bomber

• Radio communication
equipment
• Radio compass (ADF)
• IFF equipment

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1947 – The silent revolution…

The Nobel Prize in Physics

1956 was awarded jointly to
William Bradford Shockley,
John Bardeen & Walter
Houser Brattain (Bell Labs)
"for their researches on
semiconductors & their
discovery of the transistor
effect".

John Bardeen, William

Shockley and Walter
Brattain, the inventors of
the transistor.

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1960 – Boeing 707 – 4-person cockpit

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1970 – Boeing 747-100 – 3-person cockpit

Inertial Navigation System (INS)

replaces the navigator…

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1980 – Boeing 767 – 2-person cockpit

On-board computers and integrated

displays replace the flight
engineer…
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Comparison Boeing 747-200 vs Boeing 747-400

Application of digital integration techniques allowed the more than 700 controls, instruments and switches
on the Boeing 747-200 (three-person cockpit) to be reduced to less than 200 on the Boeing 747-400 (two-
person cockpit).
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Crew Workload Reduction enabled by Avionics

• 1950: 5-person cockpit (DC-6)

• 1960: 4-person cockpit (B707)
• 1970: 3-person cockpit (B747/A300)
• 1980: 2-person cockpit (B767/A310)
• ....
• 20XX: 1-person cockpit?

2022: Antonov 124: 6-person crew...

Spherical Image | RICOH THETA (theta360.com)
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Avionics History - Introduction

1980-202X – What happened since?

• Technical improvements
• Cockpit integration
• Optimalizations
• Safety enhancements
• Flight Efficiency solutions
• System integration
• Additional electronic applications
• Automatisation

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Aircraft Systems – ATA classification

A numerical technical classification of all the systems and sub systems on an aircraft which is
universally used in aircraft engineering and aircraft maintenance. It was developed by the former
Air Transport Association (ATA) since renamed Airlines for America (A4A).

• ATA 25 Flight Deck Layout • ATA 31 Control and Display System

• ATA 21 & 36 Air Systems • ATA 31 Recording Systems
• ATA 22 Automatic Flight System • ATA 32 Landing Gear
• ATA 22 Flight Management System • ATA 33 Lights
• ATA 23 Communication • ATA 34 Navigation
• ATA 24 Electrical System • ATA 35 Oxygen System
• ATA 26 Fire and Smoke Protection • ATA 42 Avionics Networks and IMA
• ATA 27 Flight Controls • ATA 45 Onboard Maintenance System
• ATA 27 Slats and Flaps • ATA 46 Information Systems
• ATA 28 & 47 Fuel System • ATA 46 ATC Communication System
• ATA 29 Hydraulic System • ATA 49 Auxiliary Power Unit
• ATA 30 Ice and Rain Protection • ATA 52 Doors
• ATA 70 Engines
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Core Avionics Systems (ref. R.P.G. Collinson)

• Systems Which Interface Directly

with the Pilot
• Aircraft State Sensor Systems
• Navigation Systems
• Outside World Sensor Systems
• Task Automation Systems

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Value of avionics in contemporary aviation

• The avionics equipment on a modern military or civil aircraft can account for around 30% of
the total cost of the aircraft. This figure can be over 75% of the total cost in the case of an
airborne early warning aircraft (AWACS).
• Modern general aviation aircraft also have a significant avionics content. For example, color
head down displays, GPS satellite navigation systems, radio communications equipment.
Avionics can account for 10% of their total cost.
• The avionic systems are essential to enable the flight crew to carry out the aircraft mission
safely and efficiently, whether the mission is carrying passengers to their destination in the
case of a civil airliner, or, in the military case, intercepting a hostile aircraft, attacking a
ground target, reconnaissance or maritime patrol.
• Top 10 companies in Avionics Market in 2022:

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Boeing 777 – Avionics bay

Boeing 777 Avionics Compartment Panoramic - HawkEye Media LLC

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Avionics Course – Curriculum (1)

• The cockpit environment – a historical overview, evolution and crew tasks; human factors issues
• Head down display technologies (classic instruments + electronic equivalents)
• Head up displays
• Helmet mounted displays
• Aircraft Electrical Power Networks
• Airborne instrumentation and air data sensors
• Fundamentals of radio propagation and antenna design
• Navigation fundamentals
• Radio navigational aids; direction finding, VOR, DME, NDB, ILS, marker beacon
• Global positioning system (GNSS)
• Inertial navigation systems (INS/IRS)
• Performance Based Navigation and beyond

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Avionics Course – Curriculum (2)

• Communications (VHF, UHF, Satcom, Datalink)

• Weather Radar
• Integration of avionics - Flight Management Systems
• Integration of avionics (IMA)
• Data busses: basic concepts, ARINC 429/629/664 MIL-1553, AFDX
• Automatic Flight – Autoland – Thrust control
• Fly-by-wire: Basic principles and A320/330 case study
• Airborne surveillance systems
• Airborne Safety Nets: ACAS and TAWS
• Recording systems (FDR, CVR, QAR)
• Engine Control Systems (FADEC)
• Certification

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