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Flight recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated name which has become a misnomer because they are required to be painted bright orange, to aid in their recovery after accidents.
There are two types of flight recording devices: the flight data recorder (FDR) preserves the recent history of the flight by recording of dozens of parameters collected several times per second; the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) preserves the recent history of the sounds in the cockpit, including the conversation of the pilots. The two devices may be combined into a single unit. Together, the FDR and CVR document the aircraft's flight history, which may assist in any later investigation.
The two flight recorders are required by the International Civil Aviation Organization to be capable of surviving conditions likely to be encountered in a severe aircraft accident. They are specified to withstand an impact of 3400 g and temperatures of over 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) by EUROCAE ED-112. They have been a mandatory requirement in commercial aircraft in the United States since 1967. After the unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014, commentators have called for live streaming of data to the ground, as well as extending the battery life of the underwater locator beacons.
In seafaring, a device which recorded the position of different vessels in case of an accident was patented by John Sen Inches Thomson in January, 1897.
One of the earliest and proven attempts was made by François Hussenot and Paul Beaudouin in 1939 at the Marignane flight test center, France, with their "type HB" flight recorder; they were essentially photograph-based flight recorders, because the record was made on a scrolling photographic film 8 metres (8.7 yd) long by 88 millimetres (3.5 in) wide. The latent image was made by a thin ray of light deviated by a mirror tilted according to the magnitude of the data to be recorded (altitude, speed, etc.). A pre-production run of 25 "HB" recorders was ordered in 1941, and HB recorders remained in use in French flight test centers well into the 1970s.
In 1947, Hussenot founded the Société Française des Instruments de Mesure with Beaudouin and another associate, so as to market his invention, which was also known as the "hussenograph". This company went on to become a major supplier of data recorders, used not only aboard aircraft but also trains and other vehicles. SFIM is today part of the Safran group and is still present in the flight recorder market. The advantage of the film technology was that it could be easily developed afterwards and provides a durable, visual feedback of the flight parameters without needing any playback device. On the other hand, unlike magnetic tapes or later flash memory-based technology, a photographic film cannot be erased and reused, and so must be changed periodically. The technology was reserved for one-shot uses, mostly during planned test flights: it was not mounted aboard civilian aircraft during routine commercial flights. Also, cockpit conversation was not recorded.
Another form of flight data recorder was developed in the UK during World War II. Len Harrison and Vic Husband developed a unit that could withstand a crash and fire to keep the flight data intact. The unit was the forerunner of today's recorders, in being able to withstand conditions that aircrew could not. It used copper foil as the recording medium, with various styli, corresponding to various instruments or aircraft controls, indenting the foil. The foil was periodically advanced at set time intervals, giving a history of the aircraft's instrument readings and control settings. The unit was developed at Farnborough for the Ministry of Aircraft Production. At the war's end, the Ministry got Harrison and Husband to sign over their invention to it and the Ministry patented it under British patent 19330/45.
The first modern flight data recorder, called "Mata-Hari", named after the famous spy, was created in 1942 by Finnish aviation engineer Veijo Hietala. This black high-tech mechanical box was able to record all required data during test flights of fighter aircraft that the Finnish Air Force repaired or built in its main aviation factory in Tampere, Finland.
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Flight recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated name which has become a misnomer because they are required to be painted bright orange, to aid in their recovery after accidents.
There are two types of flight recording devices: the flight data recorder (FDR) preserves the recent history of the flight by recording of dozens of parameters collected several times per second; the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) preserves the recent history of the sounds in the cockpit, including the conversation of the pilots. The two devices may be combined into a single unit. Together, the FDR and CVR document the aircraft's flight history, which may assist in any later investigation.
The two flight recorders are required by the International Civil Aviation Organization to be capable of surviving conditions likely to be encountered in a severe aircraft accident. They are specified to withstand an impact of 3400 g and temperatures of over 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) by EUROCAE ED-112. They have been a mandatory requirement in commercial aircraft in the United States since 1967. After the unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014, commentators have called for live streaming of data to the ground, as well as extending the battery life of the underwater locator beacons.
In seafaring, a device which recorded the position of different vessels in case of an accident was patented by John Sen Inches Thomson in January, 1897.
One of the earliest and proven attempts was made by François Hussenot and Paul Beaudouin in 1939 at the Marignane flight test center, France, with their "type HB" flight recorder; they were essentially photograph-based flight recorders, because the record was made on a scrolling photographic film 8 metres (8.7 yd) long by 88 millimetres (3.5 in) wide. The latent image was made by a thin ray of light deviated by a mirror tilted according to the magnitude of the data to be recorded (altitude, speed, etc.). A pre-production run of 25 "HB" recorders was ordered in 1941, and HB recorders remained in use in French flight test centers well into the 1970s.
In 1947, Hussenot founded the Société Française des Instruments de Mesure with Beaudouin and another associate, so as to market his invention, which was also known as the "hussenograph". This company went on to become a major supplier of data recorders, used not only aboard aircraft but also trains and other vehicles. SFIM is today part of the Safran group and is still present in the flight recorder market. The advantage of the film technology was that it could be easily developed afterwards and provides a durable, visual feedback of the flight parameters without needing any playback device. On the other hand, unlike magnetic tapes or later flash memory-based technology, a photographic film cannot be erased and reused, and so must be changed periodically. The technology was reserved for one-shot uses, mostly during planned test flights: it was not mounted aboard civilian aircraft during routine commercial flights. Also, cockpit conversation was not recorded.
Another form of flight data recorder was developed in the UK during World War II. Len Harrison and Vic Husband developed a unit that could withstand a crash and fire to keep the flight data intact. The unit was the forerunner of today's recorders, in being able to withstand conditions that aircrew could not. It used copper foil as the recording medium, with various styli, corresponding to various instruments or aircraft controls, indenting the foil. The foil was periodically advanced at set time intervals, giving a history of the aircraft's instrument readings and control settings. The unit was developed at Farnborough for the Ministry of Aircraft Production. At the war's end, the Ministry got Harrison and Husband to sign over their invention to it and the Ministry patented it under British patent 19330/45.
The first modern flight data recorder, called "Mata-Hari", named after the famous spy, was created in 1942 by Finnish aviation engineer Veijo Hietala. This black high-tech mechanical box was able to record all required data during test flights of fighter aircraft that the Finnish Air Force repaired or built in its main aviation factory in Tampere, Finland.