LIGHTENING THE LOAD PAST & PRESENT

摘要

For many aircraft, avionic systems can seem a total extravagance. However, without these often expensive and complicated systems any aircraft being used to meet clear civilian or military objectives just cannot carry out the tasks allotted to it anywhere as effectively as is expected. So the dreaded 'black boxes' (and they have not been black for some 40 years now, though the term persists) are by now part of the aviation scene. Getting effective operations is one thing, but the systems have to be cost-effective, too. However, there are other benefits. Flying with avionics to assist them, a crew is driven to follow a well-ordered routine - no matter where they are, or what the conditions are beyond the windscreen. Intrinsically, this can contribute greatly to safety. Avionics might seem to make the job more onerous when the benefits they bring are not so evident, but in certain conditions, such as approaching and landing in poor weather, the pilot's workload can be improved dramatically. Finally, pilots are human and to err is human. They can easily make a wrong decision, and it does not matter if the reason for this is ignorance, bravado, fatigue or incompetence, because any mistake, if left undetected, can be fatal. Some avionic systems, therefore, bring safety in a direct fashion, by helping to recognise, and hence minimise, the occurrence of bad decisions. These issues are largely the basis on which avionic system development has been justified for many years, and in the future they will remain pre-eminent issues. Evee so, avionics in the future could be profoundly influential, as the two articles in this brief scries will show. Avionics developments have contributed greatly, though not exclusively, to aviation safety. Overall, the world accident rate for airliners has diminished over the years, and as the second century of powered flight dawns, perhaps the most crucial objective in the years to come is that the accident rate continues to diminish. It is fair to say, especially in civil airliner operations, that if this objective is not met, the frequency of occurrence of accidents will rise from today's acceptable, but still tragic, levels―about 1,000 fatalities per year seems commonplace. It is widely held that if this happens, public perception of aviation as a 'sale' mode of transport will be sorely tested. In searching for these ultimately vital, yet minute, improvements, avionics desingers believe they have an important role to play.