Flight recorders are devices designed to maintain flight characteristics and negotiations in the cockpit. The device is an electronic unit that records on digital media. The system is reliably protected by a sealed metal housing. Flight recorders are able to spend sufficient time in the most adverse conditions.
History
The first registrar was created in France. In 1939, F. Usseno and P. Baudouin developed an oscilloscope that recorded every deviation of a flight parameter using light rays. After 14 years, the representative of Australian science D. Warren, participating in the investigation of the crash of a passenger plane, came to the conclusion that it was necessary to record the negotiations of the pilots.
The idea was embodied in a real invention after 3 years, in 1956. The flight recorder was protected by asbestos and a steel case. In 1960, Australia made a requirement that the installation of a registrar in aircraft became mandatory. Other countries followed the example of the Green Continent.
Common myths
The media broadcasts every crash in all available details. Perhaps everyone has heard about the black box. The flight recorder is actually not quite arranged in the same way as the average person is accustomed to imagine. The main black box myths created:
- The recorder itself is actually not black, but orange. The color is selected based on the ease of detection of the recorder in an airplane crash.
- And the box is not a box at all: the registrar most often represents a sphere or a cylinder. Spherical shape allows to withstand the maximum allowable load.
- Typically, a decoder is not required to obtain recorded information. Data is not encrypted in any way. Absolutely anyone can listen to them. However, only an expert can analyze the information received.
Now, readers should have formed the correct opinion about how flight recorders actually look.
Modern liners are provided with two flight recorders: speech and parametric. The use of an additional operational set of registrars is practiced.
Appointment
Flight recorders are intended for the collection and storage of navigational indicators, information about the actions performed by the crew and the material condition of the aircraft. Modern registrars are able to record the following parameters:
- fuel fluid pressure when supplied to the engine;
- pressure in each of the hydraulic systems;
- engine speed;
- temperature beyond the space of the aircraft turbine;
- use of the battle button;
- deviation of control devices and its degree;
- use of takeoff and landing mechanisms;
- speed, altitude, flight course;
- passing lighthouses.
Recording flight parameters and pilot conversations greatly simplifies the investigation of the causes of the crash. This not only allows us to understand the design flaws, but also to develop a plan of action in emergency situations, to analyze the crash that has occurred from all possible sides.
Flight recorder device
The principle of the device recorder depends on the purpose and method of recording information. Distinguish between optical, magnetic, mechanical and electronic storage devices. The mechanical and optical recording methods are outdated; at present, they are not used even on older aircraft models.
Electronic recording systems are a cluster of memory chips and a controller, which is very similar to an SSD drive in a regular laptop. Chart recorders with an electronic type device are installed on all modern aircraft and make up most of all registrars used. On older models, a magnetic recording method using tape or wire is still used. The latter is a more reliable option.
Externally, the flight recorder is protected by a metal shell made of titanium alloys or alloyed iron. Operational and test recorders are used without additional coverage. The appearance of the devices will depend on what types of flight recorders are. Photos allow you to study each species in detail separately.
The safety of the registrars is also due to the location of the flight recorders. According to statistics, the tail part of the aircraft suffers the least in airspace accidents. This reason explains the location of the flight recorders in the aircraft at the tail of the fuselage.
Registrar Launch
Access to the maintenance of recorders is restricted to employees who are not interested in data corruption. Crew members cannot independently turn on or off the recording. In order to automatically start, a relationship is created between the recorder and the actions of the aircraft. There are several types of registrar activation:
- when starting the aircraft engine;
- at action of the limit switch;
- using speed sensors.
The time it takes to record data on the flight recorders depends on the method of recording information. Usually 30-120 minutes from a certain point in flight.
Types of registrars depending on the purpose of application
The operational flight recorder is used during normal scheduled flights to obtain objective information about the state of the aircraft in operation, as well as to independently evaluate the work of crew members. This type of recorder is not protected from the effects of the environment during a disaster.
The emergency flight recorder is just the mechanism that everyone says about when the plane crashed. Before operation, a test is carried out showing how resistant the device is to the effects of critical conditions. Flight recorders of crashed aircraft should be able to:
- stay in aviation fuel for 24 hours;
- 60 minutes to burn in a fire (1100 ° С);
- be at the bottom of the ocean (6000 m) for a month;
- withstand statistical overload on each axis of 2168 kg.
After a thorough check, the flight recorder is allowed to be installed in the aircraft.
A test recorder will be used to evaluate the performance of an aircraft. It is used during trial test flights in order to identify possible design flaws. During passenger flights not applicable.
Voice and parametric recorders
Modern aircraft are equipped with two types of recorders: speech and parametric. Often the design involves combining different types of information into one flight recorder. Both the speech and the parametric device have a clear relationship with time.
Parametric recorders are capable of recording more than 2000 data, but only about 500 of them are used. The limitation of the number of recorded parameters is due to the fact that they are not used to investigate disasters. Registrars of this type are one of the main indicators of aircraft malfunctions and objective evidence of the causes of the accident.
Voice recorders record a conversation between the crew in a certain period of time. They are used to determine and exclude the human factor in air crashes, as well as to improve and evaluate professional skills.
Search for recorders after the crash of an airliner
The recorders are equipped with special beacons based on ultrasonic waves, which are activated in case of danger (for example, in contact with water). The signal frequency is 37.5 kHz. If the crash occurred far from the water, finding a recorder is not difficult.
Bright color is clearly visible on the background of debris. High wear resistance allows not only to detect the ball or cylinder of the recorder in relative safety, but also to decrypt the data.
Is it possible to restore the recorder in the event of a breakdown?
About a third of all air crashes lead to a violation of the integrity of the body of the flight recorder, which entails the loss of information. In some cases, laboratories carry out serious and lengthy work to restore damaged parts of recording devices.
Methods are based on sealing or applying adhesives. Sometimes repairs help and information can be restored.
