AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS & AVIONICS

21AE62
Module-3
Syllabus
Aircraft Instruments: Principles and operation
Flight Instruments
Gyroscope, Accelerometers
Air speed Indicators
TAS, EAS,
Mach Meters
Altimeters

Study of various types of engine instruments: Operation and Principles

Tachometers,
Temperature gauges,
Pressure gauges,
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References
• https://www.cfinotebook.net/notebook/avionics-and-instruments/airspeed-indicator
• https://aerotoolbox.com/airspeed-conversions/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq_PDaYclAw&ab_channel=FlyByMax
• https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/p
hak/10_phak_ch8.pdf
• https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/05/mechanical-movement-indicators.html
• https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/06/pressure-measuring-instruments.html
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
hOsdEH6YZw&ab_channel=ADVANCETECHNOLOGYFORFUTURE

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Identify the Instruments

Can you spot them? 4

Modern Airplane Cockpit Instruments

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Flight Instruments: Basic 6
All airplanes have six basic instruments: airspeed
indicator, attitude indicator, altimeter, turn
coordinator, heading indicator, and vertical speed
indicator.
These six instruments provide pilots with
information about an airplane’s motion and
orientation with respect to the ground. These
instruments allow them to fly safely even when they
cannot see the ground or horizon.

3 are air pressure instruments: ASI, VSI and Altimeter

3 are gyroscope instruments: HSI, Artificial Horizon

and Turn Coordinator
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Pitot-Static System
ASSIGNMENT 2
– Make this!

https://aerotoolbox.com/airspeed-conversions/ 7
Gyroscope Systems
The basic effect upon which a gyroscope
relies is that an isolated spinning mass
tends to keep its angular position with
respect to an inertial reference frame
For use in aircraft, gyroscopes must
establish two essential reference datums:
a reference against which pitch and roll
attitude changes may be detected, and
a directional reference against which
changes about the vertical axis may be
detected.

These references are established by

gyroscopes having their spin axes arranged
vertically and horizontally respectively. 8
Navigation Instruments
The navigation instruments indicate the position of
the aircraft in relation to a selected navigation
facility or fix. This group of instruments includes
various types of course indicators, range indicators,
glideslope indicators, and bearing pointers.
Navigation instruments are comprised of indicators
that display GPS, Very High Frequency (VHF) omni-
directional radio range (VOR), Non-Directional
Beacon (NDB), and Instrument Landing System (ILS)
etc.

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Engine Instruments
These are instruments designed to constantly
measure operating parameters relating to the
aircraft’s engine(s). Examples are tachometers,
temperature gauges, fuel and oil quantity displays,
and engine pressure gauges.

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Total and Static Air temperature
Static air temperature (sometimes called true air
temperature or OAT) is the temperature of undisturbed
air. Above 200 knots, a normal OAT probe can’t give an
accurate reading because air friction and compressibility
cause the indicated temperature to rise.
Total Air Temperature (TAT) or Ram Air Temperature is
the temperature that the ram air temperature probe
senses when the aircraft is in motion. Ram rise occurs to
a small degree at all airspeeds, but it only really starts
becoming a factor above 200 knots.
At typical jet speeds, TAT may be 150-300 C higher than
the actual outside air temperature. TAT probe data is
used for calculating Mach number and true airspeed
which are critical for cruise flight and navigation.

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Machmeter
The Mach number is the ratio of the True Airspeed to the Sonic
Speed. As the ambient temperature will decrease as altitude is
increased, leading to the reduction in the speed of sound as
with increasing altitude. High speed aircraft, including airliners
and business jets, have limiting mach numbers which must not
be exceeded. If the aircraft is deliberately or accidentally
allowed to exceed its limiting mach, shock waves are likely to
form on the airfoil and can result in buffet or mach tuck. Some
aircraft use a constant mach number (rather than constant
speed) technique for cruise operations.

A machmeter is an instrument which provides an indication of

the Mach Number, (M). The machmeter uses the aircraft pitot-
static system to generate M and usually portrays this on a
simple needle and dial instrument.
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Mechanical Machmeter Working
Mechanical machmeters which are not driven from
an air data computer use an altitude aneroid inside
the instrument that converts pitot-static pressure
into mach number. These systems assume that the
temperature at any altitude is standard; therefore,
the indicated mach number is inaccurate whenever
the temperature deviates from standard.

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Gyroscopic Principle
The basic effect upon which a gyroscope relies is that an isolated spinning mass tends to keep
its angular position with respect to an inertial reference frame, and, when a constant external
torque is applied to the mass, its rotation axis undergoes a precession motion at a constant
angular speed, in a direction that is normal to the direction of the applied torque.
The gimbaled frame of the gyroscope is attached to the vehicle and it is free to rotate, while
the rotation axis of the spinning mass keeps its angular position during the motion of the
vehicle. The variation of the absolute angle of the vehicle can be simply associated to the
relative variation of the angle between the rotation axis of the mass and a fixed direction on
the frame of the gyroscope.

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Gyroscopic Aircraft Instruments
For use in aircraft, gyroscopes must establish two essential reference datums: a reference
against which pitch and roll attitude changes may be detected, and a directional reference
against which changes about the vertical axis may be detected. These references are
established by gyroscopes having their spin axes arranged vertically and horizontally
respectively
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVsx4XWafXg

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Components of Gyroscopic Instruments

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Other Types of Gyros and Applications

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Accelerometer
An accelerometer is a device that measures the vibration,
or acceleration of motion of a structure. Accelerometer
registers the G forces acting on the airframe during
turbulent or aerobatic maneuvers.
Highly sensitive accelerometers are used in inertial
navigation systems for aircraft and missiles. In unmanned
aerial vehicles, accelerometers help to stabilize flight.

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Inertial Measurement Unit
An Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) calculates the location, orientation and velocity of a
moving object without the need of GNSS technology. IMU devices operate on a dead reckoning
system. Inertial navigation systems are mainly comprised of accelerometers and gyroscopes.
Gyroscopes are used for measuring the sensor frame’s angular velocity relative to the inertial
reference frame. Accelerometers deliver information on speed and direction of acceleration,
based on a measurement of linear acceleration of the vehicle relative to itself.

The main advantages of inertial navigation over other forms of navigation are as follows:
• It is autonomous and does not rely on any external aids or on visibility conditions
• It is inherently well suited for integrated navigation, guidance, and control of the host vehicle
• It is immune to jamming and inherently stealthy. It neither receives nor emits detectable
signals
Disadvantages of IMU include the following:
• Navigation errors increase with time.
• Higher failure rates than GNSS
• Higher acquisition and training costs 19
INS Components
INS typically contain three orthogonal rate-gyroscopes and
three orthogonal accelerometers, measuring angular velocity
and linear acceleration respectively. By processing signals from
these devices it is possible to track the position and orientation
of an object on which the INS device is mounted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq_PDaYclAw&ab_channel
=FlyByMax

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Engine Instruments
Engine instruments that indicate oil pressure, oil temperature, engine speed, exhaust gas
temperature, and fuel flow are common to both turbine and reciprocating engines. Indications
of engine pressure ratio, turbine discharge pressure and torque are also used in turbine
engines.

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Tachometers
The tachometer, or tach, is an instrument that indicates the speed of the crankshaft or the
speed(s) of the compressor section(s) depending on the type of engine. In reciprocating
engine, the tachometer is calibrated to indicate revolutions per minutes (rpm). Turbine engine
tachometers are calibrated in percentage of rpm with 100 percent corresponding to optimum
turbine speed. This allows similar operating procedures despite the varied actual engine rpm
of different engines.

Mechanical tachometer indicating systems are found on small, single-engine light aircraft in
which a short distance exists between the engine and the instrument panel.

Electric tachometers are used if engines not mounted in the fuselage or far away from the
instrument panel. These are the most common type of tachometer used in modern aircraft.
They use a sensor that is mounted on the engine to detect the rotation speed of the
crankshaft. The sensor sends an electronic signal to the tachometer, which displays the engine
speed on a digital or analog display.
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Mechanical Tachometers

The flyweight type mechanical tachometer consist of an

indicator connected to the engine by a flexible drive shaft.
The indicator contains a flyweight assembly coupled to a
gear mechanism that drives a pointer. As the engine rotates
the flyweights move and rotate the pointer through a gear
mechanism.

The magnetic drag cup tachometer consists of a permanent

magnet which is connected to a flexible shaft which is
coupled to the drive shaft. As the drive shaft turns, it rotates
a permanent magnet in a close-tolerance aluminum cup.
This generates an eddy current emf in the aluminum cup.
The torque induced by the emf is balanced by the spring and
fixes the pointer within the display region.
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Generator-Indicator tachometer
The Generator-Indicator tachometer consists of a small AC Generator which is mounted to the
drive section of the engine. The engine drive shaft is coupled to a three-phase AC generator.
The generator produces a three-phase AC output whose frequency is proportional to the
rotational speed of the engine drive shaft.
Wires connect the tachometer generator to the tachometer indicator. The three-phase AC
signal turns a three-phase AC synchronous motor in the tachometer indicator. A copper cup is
placed around the drum. As the drum rotates, it induces Eddy currents in the copper cup. The
copper cup becomes magnetic and exerts a force on the shaft connecting it to the spring and
indicator pointer.

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Tacho Probe and Indicator System
This is an electronic tachometer which uses probes for rpm indication. A sealed probe is
mounted on a flange and protrudes into the compressor section of the engine. A magnetic field
is set up at the end of the probe. A rotating gear wheel which is attached to the shaft alters the
magnetic field flux density as it moves past the pole at close proximity. This generates voltage
signals in coils inside the probe. The amplitude of the EMF signals vary directly with the speed
of the engine. The evenly spaced gear teeth is also known as a phonic wheel.

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Temperature gauges

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Temperature Sensors: Bimetallic Strip
In some older or light aircraft, bimetallic strips might be used in temperature gauges. These
gauges would likely measure ambient air temperature (Outside Air Temperature - OAT) or non-
critical engine component temperatures.
The temperature sensing element of a bimetallic thermometer is made of two dissimilar
metals strips bonded together. Each metal expands and contracts at a different rate when
temperature changes. One end of the bimetallic strip is fixed, the other end is coiled. A
pointer is attached to the coiled end which is set in the instrument housing.

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Temperature Sensors: Thermocouple
A thermocouple is a circuit or connection of two dis-similar metals and works on the Seebeck
Effect. The metals are touching at two separate junctions. If one of the junctions is heated to a
higher temperature than the other, an EMF is produced in the circuit. This voltage is directly
proportional to the temperature. If the cold junction (where the voltmeter is connected) is not
at 0 degrees Celsius, a cold-junction compensation has to be made.
Thermocouples are used to measure high temperatures. Two common applications are the
measurement of cylinder head temperature (CHT) in reciprocating engines and exhaust gas
temperature (EGT) in turbine engines.

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Temperature Sensors: RTD
A Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) is an
electronic device used to determine the temperature
by measuring the resistance of an electrical wire. RTD
is used to measure temperature with high accuracy,
as it has good linear characteristics over a wide range
of temperatures. The principle parts of an RTD are
the indicating instrument, the temperature-sensitive
element (or bulb), and the connecting wires and plug
connectors. RTD devices; Copper, Nickel and Platinum
are widely used metals.
RTDs are used in aircraft to measure inlet air
temperature, oil temperature, fuel temperatures, etc.
in the –70 °C to 150 °C range.

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Types of Pressure Measurements
Absolute pressure exists when a force is compared to a total vacuum, or absolutely no pressure.
Pressure is measured using an aneroid reference. Many aircraft instruments make use of
absolute pressure values, such as the altimeter, the rate-of-climb indicator, and the manifold
pressure gauge.
Gauge pressure is the difference between the pressure to be measured and the atmospheric
pressure. This eliminates the need to measure varying atmospheric pressure to indicate or
monitor a particular pressure situation. Gauge pressure may be used for generic applications
such as measuring tyre pressure.
When two pressures are compared, the measurement is known as differential pressure and the
gauge is a differential pressure gauge. Airspeed indicator and turbine engine pressure ratio are
differential measurements.

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Pressure Sensors: Bourdon Tube
The Bourdon tube is the internal mechanism for many
pressure gauges used on aircraft.
The bourdon tube has a coiled tube with an open end
which is fixed in place and the other end is sealed and
free to move. A fluid that needs to be measured is
directed into the open end of the tube. As the
pressure increases, the closed end of the tube
straightens out. A pointer is attached to this moving
end of the tube and is placed on a display face. This
display face is graduated after calibration to give the
pressure reading.

Some of the instruments that use a Bourdon tube

mechanism include the engine oil pressure gauge,
hydraulic pressure gauge, oxygen tank pressure gauge,
and deice boot pressure gauge 31
Pressure Sensors: Resistive and Capacitive
Resistive: Resistive pressure sensors utilize the change in electrical resistance of a strain gauge
bonded to the diaphragm that’s exposed to the pressure medium. The strain gauges often
comprise of a metal resistive element on a flexible backing bonded to the diaphragm.
Piezoresistive measure the change in resistivity of semiconductor materials, when subjected to
strain due to diaphragm deflection. The magnitude of the change can be 100 times greater
than the resistance change produced in a metal strain gauge.
Capacitive: Capacitive sensors, which display a capacitance change as one plate deflects under
applied pressure, can be highly sensitive, can measure pressures below 10 mbar, and withstand
large overloads.

Which is
which?
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