Flight recorders are devices designed to save flight characteristics and communications in the cockpit. The device is an electronic unit that records on digital media. The system is reliably protected by a sealed metal case. The flight recorders are able to spend sufficient time in the most adverse conditions.
History
The first registrar was created in France. In 1939, F. Oussenot and P. Baudouin developed an oscilloscope that recorded each deviation of the flight parameter using light rays. 14 years later, the representative of Australian science D. Warren, participating in the investigation of the crash of a passenger plane, came to the idea of the need to record the conversations of the pilots.
The idea turned into a real invention 3 years later, in 1956. The flight recorder was protected with asbestos and a steel case. In 1960, Australia introduced a requirement that the installation of a recorder in aircraft becamemandatory. Other countries followed the example of the Green Continent.
Common myths
The media broadcast every aircraft crash in every detail available. Perhaps everyone has heard of the black box. The flight recorder is actually not quite the way the average person is accustomed to imagine. Major black box myths created:
- The recorder itself is actually not black, but orange. The color was chosen based on the ease of detection of the recorder in a crash.
- And the box is not a box at all: the registrar is most often a ball or a cylinder. The spherical shape allows it to withstand the maximum allowable loads.
- Usually no decoder is needed to retrieve recorded information. The data is not actually encrypted in any way. Anyone can listen to them. However, only an expert can analyze the information received.
Readers should now have the right idea of what flight recorders actually look like.
Modern liners are provided with two flight recorders: voice and parametric. The use of an additional operational set of registrars is practiced.
Destination
Flight recorders are designed to collect and store navigation indicators, information about the actions of the crew and the material condition of the aircraft. Modern registrars are capable of recording the following parameters:
- fuel fluid pressure when supplied to the engine;
- pressure in each of the hydraulic systems;
- engine speed;
- temperature behind the space of the aircraft turbine;
- using the combat button;
- deviation of control devices and its degree;
- use of takeoff and landing mechanisms;
- speed, altitude, flight path;
- passing lighthouses.
Recording flight parameters and pilots' conversations greatly simplifies the investigation into the causes of the plane crash. This not only allows us to understand the flaws in the design, but also to develop a plan of action in emergency situations, to analyze the crash from all possible sides.
Flight Recorder Unit
The principle of the recorder device depends on the purpose and method of recording information. There are optical, magnetic, mechanical and electronic storage devices. Mechanical and optical recording methods are obsolete, they are not currently used even on older models of aircraft.
Electronic recording systems are an accumulation of memory and controller chips, much like an SSD drive in a regular laptop. Recorders with an electronic type device are installed on all modern aircraft and make up the majority of all recorders in use. On older models, the method of magnetic recording using tape or wire is still used. The latter is the 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 the types of flight recorders. Photos allow you to study in detail each species separately.
The safety of the recorders is also due to the location of the flight recorders. According to statistics, the tail section of the aircraft suffers the least in airspace accidents. It is this reason that explains the location of the flight recorders in the aircraft at the tail of the fuselage.
Start recorder
Only employees not interested in data distortion have access to recorder maintenance. Crew members cannot turn the recording on or off on their own. For the purpose of automatic launch, a relationship is created between the operation of the recorder and the actions of the aircraft. There are several types of registrar activation:
- when starting an aircraft engine;
- with limit switch action;
- using speed sensors.
The time it takes to record data on flight recorders depends on how the information is recorded. Usually 30-120 minutes from a certain point in the flight.
Types of registrars depending on the purpose of application
The operational flight recorder is used during normal planned flights to obtain objective information about the state of the aircraft in operation, as well as toindependent evaluation of the work of crew members. This type of recorder is not protected from the environment in a disaster.
The emergency flight recorder is exactly the mechanism that everyone talks about in a plane crash. Before operation, a test is carried out showing how resistant the device is to critical conditions. The flight recorders of downed aircraft must be capable of:
- being in jet fuel for 24 hours;
- 60 minutes to burn in the fire (1100 °C);
- be at the bottom of the ocean (6000 m) for a month;
- withstand a static overload of 2168kg on each axle.
Following a thorough check, the flight recorder is approved for installation in an aircraft.
The test recorder will be used to evaluate the operation of the aircraft. It is used during trial test flights in order to identify possible design flaws. Not applicable during passenger flights.
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 a single flight recorder. Both speech and parametric devices have a clear relationship with time.
Parametric recorders can record more than 2000 data, but only about 500 of them are used. The limitation on the number of recorded parameters is due to the fact that they are not used for investigationdisasters. Recorders of this type are one of the main indicators of aircraft malfunctions and objective evidence of the causes of an accident.
Voice recorders capture the conversation between the crew in a certain period of time. Used to identify and eliminate the human factor in air crashes, as well as to improve and evaluate professional skills.
Search for recorders after plane crash
Recorders are equipped with special beacons based on ultrasonic waves, which are activated in case of danger (for example, upon contact with water). The signal frequency is 37.5 kHz. If the crash occurred away from the body of water, finding the recorder is not difficult.
The bright color is clearly visible against the background of the wreckage. 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 registrar in the event of a breakdown?
About a third of all air crashes lead to a violation of the integrity of the flight recorder housing, which entails the loss of information. In some cases, serious and lengthy work is carried out in laboratories to restore damaged parts of recording devices.
Methods are based on soldering or the use of adhesives. Sometimes repairing helps and information can be restored.
Advances in technology
Inventionemerged over 50 years ago. Have any analogues appeared during this time that can replace flight recorders? No, so far this is the most reliable and informative method to fix the necessary characteristics of the aircraft. Separate registrar mechanisms are being developed, but the general principle remains the same.
Memory devices are being actively improved, electronic information carriers are developing. It is planned to create video recordings of individual compartments of the aircraft, which will allow to more carefully monitor the situation and evaluate the results.
Scientists are considering options for creating fireable and floating recorders. To do this, it is necessary to equip the device with sensors that will be able to record the collision of an aircraft with an obstacle. The received distress signals will launch the ejection mechanism from a dangerous place.
An interesting idea is to broadcast recordings online to a remote server. This will reduce decryption time, allow you to respond faster to emergency events and have full access to information in real time.
Flight recorders are one of the most important inventions of post-war technology. The data obtained from the recorders of destroyed aircraft helps to study the main mechanisms of accidents and minimize the percentage of accidents. In cases of an attack on an airliner, the flight recorder can confirm the guesswork of forensic scientists about a terrorist attack or military operation in the airspace.
