Aircraft Systems

1Historical Development

1.1 Introduction

If you board a commercial flight in 2016, you will step onto an aircraft that has a significant redundancy of electrical power and safety systems with a high level of automation. The instruments in the cockpit show the pilots via highly ergonomic displays the attitude, height, climb rate, speed, and Mach number of the aircraft as well as the state of the engines and other factors such as the outside air temperature and the wind speed and direction. On‐board weather radar informs the pilots of storms in the path with detailed information about the precipitation, turbulence, and the lateral and vertical extent of the storms. The navigation system takes inputs from GPS satellites, an inertial reference system (IRS), and VHF radio beacons; filters the information; and provides a precise indication of the position of the aircraft in three dimensions to within a few meters. These same instruments and navigation systems provide information to the autopilot, which can control the aircraft in height and position to follow a specific flight plan and land the plane at the destination airport if the latter has the necessary ground systems installed. The navigation computer contains a detailed database of all man‐made and natural potential obstacles and provides warnings of approaching terrain or structures. The flight is conducted via a comprehensive air traffic control (ATC) system that tracks the aircraft and maintains communication links with ...