Aircraft flight control systems consist of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft engine controls are also considered as flight controls as they change speed.
The fundamentals of aircraft controls are explained in flight dynamics. This article centers on the operating mechanisms of the flight controls
An electronic flight instrument system, or EFIS, is a flight deck instrument display system in which the display technology used is electronic rather than electromechanical. EFIS normally consists of a primary flight display (PFD), multi-function display (MFD) and Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) display. Although cathode ray tube (CRT) displays were used at first, liquid crystal displays (LCD) are now more common.
The complex electromechanical attitude director indicator (ADI) and horizontal situation indicator (HSI) were the first candidates for replacement by EFIS. However, there are now few flight deck instruments for which no electronic display is available.
A primary flight display or PFD is a modern aircraft instrument dedicated to flight information. Much like multi-function displays, primary flight displays are built around an LCD or CRT display device. Representations of older six pack or "steam gauge" instruments are combined on one compact display, simplifying pilot workflow and streamlining cockpit layouts.
Most airliners built since the 1980s — as well as many business jets and an increasing number of newer general aviation aircraft — have glass cockpits equipped with primary flight and multi-function displays.
Mechanical gauges have not been completely eliminated from the cockpit with the onset of the PFD; they are retained for backup purposes in the event of total electrical failure.
The job of the Aircraft Altimeter is to perform its operation based on the principles of the average of the atmospheric pressure which reduces with the Altitude on a linear basis. The Pressure Altimeter is made to be encased with the help of a case that is connected with the help of the outside of the air craft with the help of an inlet of air pressure at the back side of the housing.
There are then a couple of aneroid capsules in an aircraft Altimeter that comprise corrugated metallic bellows that are required for exhausting air near the inlet. The capsules in the Landing Gear and Switch Cockpit enlarge once there is a fall in the external pressure (during a climb, for instance). The pressure in the Air Speed Indicator and TOT Indicator falls once the external pressure rises (when there is a descent) of the air craft Altitude.
An automatic display of the gears of a segment, the air craft pinion, back lash spring, as well as distension and extension of the aneroid capsules of the Directional and Vertical movements of the air craft helps convert the movement of the pointers of the Aircraft Altimeter on the dial.
The dial of the Aircraft Altimeter is calibrated in the form of feet or meters along with a range of pointers that are operated with the help of indicators that are driven by gears, like the hands of the clock. The Aircraft Altimeter indicates the Altitude of the air craft in the form of different units in the following categories:
§ Hundreds
§ Thousands
§ Tens of thousands
The scale of the barometric scale of an Aircraft Altimeter helps dial the records the pressure of the air with the help of milli bars or mb. The pressure Aircraft Altimeter needs to be fixed with the baro setting knob for making up for the fewer variations in the atmospheric pressure that are a result of the variations in the local weather. This is something that takes place due to the measurement of the atmospheric pressure relative to the sea level. A radio Altimeter is used to affix the distance of an air plane over the ground, instead of above the sea level.
The Aircraft Altimeter is an Instrument that is used to measure the Altitude of the surface of the land, or for that matter any object that can fly, like an air plane. There are 2 main varieties of altimeters that are used and they are the following:
Pressure Altimeter, or Aneroid barometer and
Radio Altimeter
The Pressure Altimeter or aneroid barometer helps approximate the Altitude of an object above the mean sea level. The task of the Radio Altimeter is to measure the absolute value of the altitude that is based on the time that is needed for the signal of a radio wave for traveling from an air craft from the ground and back. (Altitude refers to the distance of the land above the sea level).
The Air Speed Indicator is an Instrument that is used by the pilot on all the phases of the flight such as the following:
Take off
Climb
Cruise
Descent
Landing
It helps maintain the various kinds of air velocities that are particular to the type of the air craft as well as those that operate in various conditions.
Once the static as well as ram pressures are equalized, the columns attain the same height on the Air Speed Indicator. The mercury on the ram part of the tube pushes back once the ram pressure rises. The Turbine Speed also makes the columns imbalanced once the tube is pushed back. The mean between the columns can be marked for indicating the speed of the aircraft. This is a value that is known as the indicated air speed and may be observed in the knots, or other units like miles per hour.
As the Air Speed Indicator is marked at a standard pressure and pressure, the readings are often inaccurate as well as different during different temperatures and altitudes. An incorrect indicated air speed is used for determining the tendency of an air craft to stall. Electronically accurate instruments for determining differences in Altitude and temperature help in determining the position of the aircraft.
A faster Air Speed Indicator helps in measuring the accurate air speed that is relative to the sound. This Indicator is known as a Mach meter.
