AVIATION HISTORY

Lecture 6: Flight
Instruments

By: Zuliana Ismail,2010

Flight Instruments

Modern Flight Instruments

Airbus A320 Glass Cockpit

 Introduction
History
 The very first aircraft had little or no flight
instruments
 Flying during bad weather was risky
 Navigation depended on pilot’s ability to use
landmarks or dead reckoning.
Flying Instrument

 As airmail pilots
began flying at
night and in all
kinds of weather
in 1920’s, new
instruments were
developed to
enable the aircraft
to fly.
Definition

 ‘Flight Instruments’
The instruments that used to display
aircraft information and to control the
orientation of the aircraft during
flight.
Birth of Flight Instruments

 September 24, 1929, First FLYING BLIND

performed by Jimmy Doolittle’s.
 Flying Blind means fly by the aid of Flight
Instrument only, without a view outside the
cockpit.
 First Flight Instruments
1. Visual radio direction finder – direct aircraft to the
airport

2. Artificial horizon (Attitude Indicator) – show the

orientation of aircraft.

3. Barometric Altimeter – show the altitude of

aircraft
 First Flight Instruments
1. Visual radio direction finder
 Using vibration system to direct the aircraft. The
closer the plane is to the beacon, the more intense
the vibration.
2. Artificial horizon (Attitude Indicator)
 Showed the orientation of the flying aircraft in
relation to the ground (show how the wings were
tilted, show whether aircraft nose up/down /level.
3. Barometric Altimeter
 Showed how far the aircraft above the ground. They
will sensitively record the time and therefore the
distance from the aircraft to the ground.
Why Flight Instruments Important

 To enable the aircraft fly through the

bad weather conditions and during
night.

 To ensure safety and reliable

operation.

 To give the early warning about any

failure of aircraft’s system/part so
that the pilot could take the
immediate action.
Basic Flight Instruments
 Six Basic Instruments
Airspeed Indicator Attitude Indicator Altimeter

Turn Indicator Heading Indicator Vertical Speed Indicator

1. Altimeter
 Also called as Altitude Meter
 To indicate how high the aircraft is from sea
level (altitude).
 Measured in feet.
 It works by measuring air pressure that enter
through pitot-static system.
 Air pressure increases and decreases as the
aircraft descends and climbs
 2.Airspeed Indicator
 Tells the pilot how fast the plane is going.
 To shows the aircraft's speed relative to the surrounding air.
 Speed is measured in knots.
 The airspeed can be calculated by measuring the differences of
air pressure.
 Air pressure is measure using
pitot-static system.
3.Vertical Speed Indicator
To display the vertical speed of the aircraft.
It used to maintain proper rate of climb and rate
of descend
Measured in feet per minute.
Rate of change is also measured based on air
pressure differences through pitot-static system.
Pitot-static
System PITOT-TUBE
 4. Attitude Indicator
 To show the aircraft's attitude relative to the
horizon.
 Also called as artificial horizon.
 Shows whether wings are level or not and
whether aircraft pitch up or down.
Attitude
Indicator
Examples
5. Heading Indicator
 To displays aircraft heading/direction with respect
to earth’s magnetic north.
 Also called directional gyro or gyro compass (Use
the gyroscope)
 When the aircraft turns, the needle indicates which
direction it is heading.
 Measured in degrees (0-north, 90-west, 180-
south, and 270-east)
6. Turn Indicator
 To display direction of turn and rate of turn. Use the
gyroscope.
 For example, direction of roll while the aircraft is rolling.
 Measured in degrees per minute
 Modern Flight
Instruments
“Glass Cockpit”
Glass Cockpit
Glass Cockpit History
 1970: NASA conducted research on flight
instruments displays
 1982: The success of the NASA-led glass cockpit
work is reflected in the total acceptance of
electronic flight displays in Boeing 767.
 By the end of the 1990s, LCD display panels were
increasingly favored among aircraft manufacturers
because of their efficiency, reliability and legibility.
 Nowadays, Modern aircraft such as the Boeing
777, Boeing 787, and Boeing 747-400, Boeing
767-400ER, Airbus A320 family (enhanced
version), Airbus A330, Airbus A340 , Airbus A380
and Airbus A350 are fitted with glass cockpits
consisting of liquid crystal display (LCD) units
Glass Cockpit

A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit

that feature EFIS (Electronic Flight
Instrument System)

On a glass cockpit aircraft, traditional

flight instruments are replaced by an
EFIS through LCD screens displaying
flight information in most convenient
form, each screen integrating several
instruments.
 EFIS (Electronic Flight
Apache Cockpit Instrument System)
 EFIS installations vary greatly.
 A light aircraft might be equipped with one
display unit, on which are displayed flight and
navigation data.
 A wide-body aircraft is likely to have six or
more display units.

Boeing 777 Cockpit Bell 430 Cockpit

F/A-18 - Glass
 EFIS (Electronic Flight
Instrument System)
 An EFIS installation will have the
following components:
1. PFD: Primary Flight Display
2. ND: Navigation Display
3. ECAM: Electronic Centralized Aircraft
Monitor
4. FMS: Flight Management System
1. Primary Flight Display (PFD)
1. Primary Flight Display (PFD)
• PFD replaces the traditional flight
instruments.
• The PFD displays all information critical
to flight, including airspeed, altitude,
heading, attitude & vertical speed
• PFDs also increase awareness by
alerting the aircrew to potentially
hazardous conditions (for example, low
airspeed, high rate of descent )by
changing the color or shape of the
display or by providing audio alerts.
1. Primary Flight Display (PFD)

• The PFD is designed to improve a

pilot's situational awareness by
integrating all information into a
single display.
• The PFD is also designed to reduce
the amount of time necessary to
monitor the instruments.
2. Navigation Display
Navigational Display - ND
2. Navigation Display

ND shows navigational information from

multiple system. (VOR, DME, ILS)
•ND also displays weather information
from multiple systems (on-board radar or
lightning detection sensors)
•Similar with the PFD, the ND can change
the color or shape of the data to alert the
aircrew to hazardous situations.
3. Electronic Centralized
Aircraft Monitor (ECAM):
3. Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor
(ECAM)

 ECAM also known as MFD (Multifunction Display)

 ECAM monitors the overall aircraft systems,
including its fuel, electrical and engine
systems.
 Give the pilots warning when there is a
malfunction.
 For example, if an engine begins to lose oil
pressure, the ECAM might sound an alert,
switch the display to the page with the oil
system information and outline the low oil
pressure data with a red box.
Electronic Centralized Aircraft
Monitor (ECAM)

 The upper ECAM screen displays

engine, flaps setting, fuel quantity and
alert information.
 The lower ECAM displays the various
systems parameters.
EFIS (Electronic Flight
Instrument System)
4. Flight Management System
(FMS)

Multifunction
Control
Display Unit
(MCDU)
4. Flight Management System
(FMS)
 The flight management system (FMS) is
the avionics that holds the flight plan,
and allows the pilot to modify as
required in flight.
 Given the position and the flight plan,
the FMS guides the aircraft along the
flight plan.
 The FMS is normally controlled by
Multifunction Control Display Unit
(MCDU)
Autopilot (AP)

 Autopilot is a Computer device that can

fly an airplane on its own.
 Mostly used on long flights.
 However, pilot is always present to
monitor and check in whether the flight is
going according to plan or not.
Question Bank

a) Briefly, explain the risks of flying with

no instruments. Provide three (3)
reasons why flight instruments are
importance.(9M)
b) Describe three (3) earlier instruments
developed that had enabled aircraft
to fly at night and in bad whether.
(6M)
Question Bank

a) State the definition of Flight

instruments. (3M)
b) Explain six (6) basic flight
instruments and their functions
(12M)
Question Bank

a) Give definition for Glass Cockpit.

(3M)
b) Explain four (4) Electronic Flight
Instrument System available in
modern aircraft (12M)
The End