What is a black box aircraft? What color is the black box of the aircraft?

The aircraft's black box (on-board logger, recorder) is a device used in railway, water transport and aviation to record on-board information systems, crew negotiations, etc. If an incident occurs with the transport, then these data are used to find out the reasons.

History

The first operational registrar of flight information appeared in 1939. The French Bodun and Yusseno constructed a light-beam oscillograph that fixes each flight parameter (speed, altitude, etc.). This happened by rejecting the corresponding mirror, reflecting a beam of light on the film. According to one version, the name "black box of the plane" appeared (see photo below), because his body was painted in this color in order to protect the film from exposure. In 1947 enterprising inventors organized the "French Society of Measuring Instruments". Over time, this company became a fairly large equipment manufacturer and merged into the Safran concern.

New modification

In 1953, the Australian scientist David Warren, who participated in the investigation of the crash of the Havilland liner, put forward the idea that the availability of crew recordings would very much help in such a case. The mechanism proposed by him combined voice and parametric recorders, and also used a magnetic tape for recording. The Warren Recorder had an asbestos wrapper and was packed in a steel case. Probably, from here we have another definition of the concept of a "black box of an airplane" - an object with an unknown or unprincipled internal structure that performs certain functions.

The prototype device David introduced in 1956. He also came up with the bright color of the black box on the plane. Four years later, the Australian government ordered the installation of samplers on all available aircraft. Soon other countries also followed this example.

What is inside?

The black box of the aircraft, the photo of which you can see in the article, does not belong to the category of complex devices. This is an ordinary array of controller and flash memory chips. It does not differ much from the standard SSD-drive of the laptop. However, flash memory is used in registrars relatively recently. Now most aircraft are equipped with old models, where the recording is performed on a magnetic tape or wire.

Types of recorders

There are two types of recorders: operational and emergency. The first one is not protected and is used for everyday monitoring of a vehicle. The staff of railway, water and air transport reads information from the system's storage devices after each voyage. Then the received data are analyzed for the presence of actions that are inadmissible by the crew at work. For example:

• Whether the maximum pitch or roll allowed by the manufacturer was exceeded;
• Did the overload on take off / landing be exceeded?
• Whether the time of work was exceeded in take-off or afterburner modes, etc.

Also, this information allows you to track the development of the resource of the aircraft and to make timely routine maintenance to reduce the frequency of failures in transport equipment and improve flight safety.

The emergency recorder is very reliable. In accordance with the requirements of the modern standard TSO-C124, it provides data integrity for half an hour of continuous burning, with shock overloads of 3400 g, staying at a depth of 6 km for 30 days, and static overloads of 2 tons for up to 5 minutes. For comparison: previous generation recorders with magnetic tapes could withstand impact overload of only 1000 g and a burning time of up to 15 minutes. To facilitate searches, emergency recorders are equipped with hydroacoustic pingers and radio beacons.

What is it made of?

The color of the black box on the plane will be discussed below, but for now let's talk about the materials from which it is made. The recorders are made of alloyed iron or titanium alloys. In any case, it is a heat-resistant and high-strength material. Although, for the most part, the safety of recorders ensures their location in the hull of the aircraft.

What color is the black box of the aircraft?

Usually the airborne recorder is red or orange. Now you know what color the black box of the aircraft is, and it is quite understandable that its name has nothing to do with the real color. A bright color was made to facilitate searches.

What parameters are recorded?

The recorders are constantly improving. The first black boxes read only 5 parameters: speed, time, vertical acceleration, altitude and heading. They were fixed with a stylus on a disposable metal foil. The last phase of the evolution of registrars refers to the 90-ies, when solid-state carriers were put into operation. Modern recorders can record up to 256 parameters. Here are some of them:

• The remainder of the fuel.
• Instant fuel consumption.
• Speed of pitch.
• Air pressure.
• The angle of heel.
• Voltage of the network.
• Position of the motor control knob.
• Lateral overload.
• Deviation of aileron introceptors.
• Flap deflection.
• Steering wheel deflection.
• Deviation of the stabilizer.
• Deviation of ailerons.
• Course traverse control of pitch, course and roll.
• Course of the wheel.
• Engine speed.
• Engine speed.
• Vertical and lateral overloads.
• True height.
• Barometric height.
• Speed of flight, etc.

Where is?

The black box of the aircraft is located in the tail part of the aircraft. Several samplers are on board. Reserve models are needed in case of severe damage or inability to detect the main ones.

Earlier, speech and parametric recorders were separated: the first was installed in the cockpit, and the second one - at the tail of the aircraft. However, due to the fact that the cabin collapsed in a catastrophe stronger than the tail, both recorders were mounted on the tail of the aircraft.

Black airplane box: transcript

This is the same myth as the color of the recorder in its name. Remember: deciphering the black boxes of crashed aircraft is simply impossible. You will ask why? Yes because the recorded data is not encrypted, and the word "decryption" is applied in the same context as the journalists processing interview records. They write the text, listening to the recording of the recorder. The same is done by the commission of experts, fixing the data in a form convenient for perception and analysis. There is no encryption: there is no data protection from outsiders, the information is available for reading at any airport. Also there is no data protection from the modification, because the recorder is designed to identify the causes of air crashes and reduce their number in the future. In the end, to silence or distort the true causes of accidents for political or some other reasons, you can make a statement about the serious damages of the registrars and the inability to read the information.

However, even with severe damage (about 30% of accidents), a black box of a crashed aircraft can still be reconstructed. Fragments of the tape are glued and processed with a special mixture, and the surviving chips are soldered and connected to the reader. These are rather complicated procedures, conducted in special laboratories and time consuming.

Are there alternatives?

Now you know what a black box of an airplane is. Until now, this device is not considered 100% reliable. Are there any alternatives?

At the moment, they simply do not exist, but engineers are constantly working on improving existing models. In the near future, they plan to transfer data from the black boxes in real time to either air bases or to a satellite.

Boeing 777 captain Steve Abdou believes that to send data in real time will require expensive satellite communications. But if you send with 4-5 minute intervals, it will significantly reduce the cost of technology and increase the profitability of its application. Since the number of satellites on the planet increases every year, the saving of flight data on a remote device is the most likely alternative to long searches and time-consuming decoding of data.

Also in the plans there is an installation of fired floating recorders. The collision of the aircraft with an obstacle will be fixed by special sensors, which will then start bailout of the recorder with a parachute. A similar principle is already used in automobile safety cushions.