Flight recorders: device, location on the aircraft, photo. Airplane black box: why is it needed and what color is it really?

The “black box”, also known as the on-board storage device, is only one of the components of the emergency parameter recording system. It is an extensive system for collecting, processing and recording many flight data.

The first airborne one was created back in 1939 by two Frenchmen F. Housseno and P. Baudouin, but it was only a prototype of those used. In 1953, Australian D. Warren proposed a new version of such a device. After participating in the investigation, Warren realized that a device that recorded crew communications could greatly facilitate his task of finding the cause of the crash.

Warren's flight recorder used magnetic tape, was wrapped in asbestos, and was hidden in a steel case. In 1956 he presented his creation to the public, and already in 1960 all passenger aircraft in Australia were equipped with them. Following this country, others made a similar decision.

Today, the “box” is an obligatory part of the control system. It accumulates various information: engine speed, fuel pressure, air temperature, speed, flight altitude, course and others. The actions of the crew are also recorded (retraction and release of the landing gear, degree of deflection of controls and other data).

Every modern airliner is equipped with two flight recorders. One of them records crew conversations (voice), the other records flight parameters (). Unlike its ancestor, the modern recorder records information on optical or flash media.

Many measures have been taken to create durable black boxes. Today's recorders are capable of withstanding an overload of three and a half thousand G, data preservation is guaranteed for half an hour when the box is engulfed in fire, for a month when immersed in water to a depth of six thousand meters, and for five minutes with static overloads of more than two tons. Despite the second name "black box", flight recorders are colored orange or red to make them easier to find.

The main task of the on-board storage device is to save information about the flight, which is especially relevant in case of plane crashes. Having discovered a “black box”, workers read the data and analyze it. After this, you can understand whether the crew committed prohibited actions or mistakes, or whether a technical breakdown occurred that caused the crash.

But flight recorders help the airline industry do more than just investigate crashes. After each flight, ground personnel study the data read from it, which allows them to monitor the technical condition of the aircraft and carry out the necessary work. In other words, the “black box” helps in the work to improve the reliability of air travel and its safety.

Flight recorders are devices designed to record flight characteristics and cockpit communications. The device is an electronic unit that records on digital media. The system is reliably protected by a sealed metal case. Flight recorders are able to remain for a sufficient period of time in the most unfavorable conditions.

Story

The first registrar was created in France. In 1939, F. Housseno and P. Baudouin developed an oscilloscope that recorded every deviation in a flight parameter using rays of light. 14 years later, the representative of Australian science D. Warren, participating in the investigation of the crash of a passenger plane, came up with the idea of ​​​​the need to record the pilots' conversations.

The idea became a real invention 3 years later, in 1956. The flight recorder was protected by asbestos and a steel casing. In 1960, Australia introduced a requirement that made the installation of a recorder in aircraft mandatory. Other countries followed the example of the Green Continent.

Common Myths

The media broadcasts every aircraft crash in every available detail. Perhaps everyone has heard about the fact that in fact it is not structured exactly as the average person is used to imagining. The main myths created about the black box are:

1. The recorder itself is not actually black, but orange. The color was chosen based on the ease of detection of the recorder in the conditions of a plane crash.
2. And the box is not a box at all: the recorder is most often a sphere or a cylinder. The spherical shape allows you to withstand the maximum permissible loads.
3. Typically, a decipherer is not required to obtain the recorded information. The data is not actually encrypted in any way. Absolutely anyone can listen to them. However, only an expert can analyze the information received.

Now the readers should have formed the correct opinion about what flight recorders look like in reality.

Modern airliners are equipped with two flight recorders: voice and parametric. It is common practice to use an additional operational set of recorders.

Purpose

Flight recorders are intended to collect and store navigation indicators, information about the crew’s actions and the material condition of the aircraft. Modern recorders are capable of recording the following parameters:

• fuel fluid pressure when supplied to the engine;
• pressure in each of the hydraulic systems;
• engine speed;
• temperature behind the aircraft turbine space;
• using the combat button;
• deviation of control devices and its degree;
• use of take-off and landing mechanisms;
• speed, altitude, flight course;
• passing lighthouses.

Recording flight parameters and pilot conversations greatly simplifies the investigation of the causes of a plane crash. This not only allows you to understand the design flaws, but also to develop an action plan in emergency situations and analyze the crash from all possible angles.

Flight recorder device

The design principle of the recorder depends on the purpose and method of recording information. There are optical, magnetic, mechanical and electronic storage devices. Mechanical and optical recording methods are outdated; currently they are not used even on older aircraft models.

Electronic recording systems are a collection of memory and controller chips, much like the SSD drive in a regular laptop. Recorders with an electronic type device are installed on all modern aircraft and make up the majority of all recorders used. Older models still use magnetic recording using tape or wire. The latter is a more reliable option.

Externally, the flight recorder is protected by a metal shell made of titanium alloys or alloyed iron. Operational and test recorders are used without additional coverage. The appearance of the devices will depend on what types of flight recorders they are. Photos allow you to study each species separately in detail.

The safety of the recorders is also determined by where the flight recorders are located. According to statistics, the tail one suffers the least in airspace accidents. This reason explains the location of the flight recorders in the aircraft in the tail of the fuselage.

Starting the recorder

Only employees who are not interested in data distortion have access to recorder maintenance. Crew members cannot turn the recording on or off independently. For the purpose of automatic launch, a relationship is created between the operation of the recorder and the actions of the aircraft. There are several types of registrar activation:

• when starting an aircraft engine;
• on action ;
• using speed sensors.

The time it takes to record data on flight recorders depends on the method of recording information. Typically 30-120 minutes from a certain point in the flight.

Types of recorders depending on the purpose of application

The operational flight recorder is used during routine scheduled flights to obtain objective information about the condition of the aircraft being operated, as well as to independently evaluate the performance of crew members. A recorder of this type is not protected from environmental influences in the event of a disaster.

The emergency flight recorder is exactly the mechanism that everyone talks about when an airplane crashes. Before use, a test is carried out to show how resistant the device is to critical conditions. Flight recorders for crashed aircraft must be capable of:

• stay 24 hours;
• Burn for 60 minutes (1100 °C);
• stay on the ocean floor (6000 m) for a month;
• withstand a statistical overload on each axis of 2168 kg.

After a thorough check, the flight recorder is allowed to be installed on the aircraft.

The test recorder is used to evaluate the performance of the aircraft. Used during trial test flights to identify possible design flaws. Not applicable during passenger flights.

Voice and parametric recorders

Modern ones are equipped with two types of recorders: speech and parametric. Often the design involves combining different types of information into a single flight recorder. Both speech and parametric devices have a clear relationship with time.

Parametric recorders are capable of recording more than 2000 data, but only about 500 of them are used. The limitation in the number of recorded parameters is due to the fact that they are not used for disaster investigation. Recorders of this type are one of the main indicators of aircraft malfunctions and objective evidence of the causes of the incident.

Voice recorders record the conversation between the crew at a certain period of time. Used to identify and eliminate human factors in aircraft accidents, as well as to improve and evaluate professional skills.

Search for recorders after an airliner crash

The recorders are equipped with special beacons based on ultrasonic waves, which are activated in case of danger (for example, upon contact with water). The signal frequency is 37.5 kHz. If the crash occurred far from water, finding the recorder is not difficult.

The bright color is clearly visible against the background of the debris. High wear resistance allows not only to detect the ball or cylinder of the recorder in relative safety, but also to decrypt the data.

Is it possible to restore the recorder if it breaks?

About a third of all aircraft accidents lead to a violation of the integrity of the flight recorder housing, which entails loss of information. In some cases, laboratories carry out serious and lengthy work to restore damaged parts of recording devices.

Methods are based on soldering or the use of adhesives. Sometimes repairs help and information can be restored.

Improving technology

The invention appeared more than 50 years ago. Have analogues appeared during this time that can replace flight recorders? No, so far this is the most reliable and informative method for recording the necessary characteristics of an aircraft. Separate mechanisms for the operation of registrars are being developed, but the general principle remains the same.

Storage devices are being actively improved, and electronic storage media are being developed. It is planned to create video recordings of individual sections of the aircraft, which will allow more careful monitoring of the situation and evaluation of the results.

Scientists are considering options for creating shootable and floating recorders. To do this, it is necessary to equip the device with sensors that will be able to detect the collision of the aircraft with an obstacle. Received distress signals will trigger an ejection mechanism from a dangerous place.

The idea of ​​broadcasting recordings online to a remote server is also interesting. This will reduce decryption time, allow you to respond faster to emergency events and have full access to information in real time.

Flight recorders are one of the most important inventions of post-war technology. The data obtained from recorders of destroyed aircraft helps to study the basic mechanisms of disasters and minimize the percentage of accidents. In cases of an attack on an airliner, the flight recorder can confirm forensic scientists' guesses about a terrorist attack or combat operation in airspace.

When the next plane crash occurs, reports immediately begin to talk about the search for the black box of the plane. What is it and why is it needed? Black boxes - or flight recorders - are recording devices in a protective shell that is made of heavy-duty material. From the outside, the body can be a parallelepiped, a cylinder or a ball. It is painted bright orange or red, which helps to detect it.

The date of creation of the first flight recorder - the “yabednik” (as it is called in flying circles) is considered to be 1939. This event took place in France. The recorder was a multi-channel oscilloscope, the body of which was similar to a box and had a black color, hence the name “black box”. Its function was to record speed, altitude and other basic flight parameters. Serial production of flight recorders began in 1947. Somewhat later, in the 1950s, voice conversations between pilots began to be recorded using magnetic tape. Later, the speech recorder was separated from the parametric recorder and placed in the cockpit. And the other one was placed at the tail of the plane. Since the cabin is subject to greater destruction than the tail of the aircraft, the voice recorder was later moved to the tail. Asbestos was used to protect the recorders. In Australia, it became mandatory to equip airplanes used for passenger transportation with black boxes in 1960. After some time, other countries followed this example. The flight recorder is now a mandatory device on board an aircraft. With its help, the cause of the disaster is established and all the circumstances of the tragedy are clarified. This further helps prevent further accidents.

Flight recorder device

Black boxes with their records provide invaluable assistance in investigating the causes of aircraft crashes. International standards require each aircraft to have two recorders. How does an airplane's black box work? To ensure the safety of information, it must have a durable design. Titanium or high-strength steel is used for its manufacture. Inside the case there is a layer of thermal insulation that protects the microcircuits from high temperatures that occur during a fire or explosion. How the black box of an airplane works (the diagram below shows this) is not difficult to figure out.
In modern recorders, the information is stored in flash memory. In addition, the box contains printed circuits that are designed to process and compress incoming information. The design of black boxes is constantly being improved. Each recorder is periodically certified.

Modern recorders

They have gone through a long path of improvement and are very different from their ancestors. What is a black box on an airplane? It serves to collect various information. Black boxes record the following data:

• technical - engine speed, fuel and hydraulic pressure, temperature;
• navigation data - speed, altitude, roll, rudder deflection;
• crew actions - extending and retracting the landing gear, all actions to control the aircraft.

All modern airliners have two recorders. One serves to record conversations conducted by the crew and is called speech, the other records all flight parameters and is called parametric. All information is recorded on optical media, such as photographic film, or magnetic (magnetic tape and metal wire) media. Recently, flash memory has become increasingly used. With the transition to it, the recording system became more reliable, since moving parts disappeared. To increase its strength, the aircraft's black box was subjected to repeated modifications and testing. Recorders store data:

• up to 3,500 G effective overload;
• 0.5 hours when on fire;
• a month in water at a depth of 6 km;
• 5 minutes at static overloads of more than 2 tons.

Black boxes on an airplane are located in the rear fuselage. According to statistics, it is the one that is least damaged in accidents. Most often, the nose of the aircraft experiences the impact.

What does a black box look like on an airplane?

The appearance of the recorder can be described as follows: most often it has a round shape. This is done so that when the plane crashes there is as little damage as possible, since bodies of this shape are less susceptible to force.
The black box is always painted in a bright color, this makes it possible to quickly notice it in search areas after a plane crash. In addition, recorders are equipped with special beacons that begin to work when they come into contact with water. When an airplane crashes into water, an underwater acoustic beacon emits a signal for 30 days from a depth of up to six kilometers.

Types of flight recorders

As mentioned above, there are two recorders on board the aircraft: voice and parametric.

Voice recordings record not only all conversations of crew members and their negotiations with dispatchers, but also the sounds that are present in the cockpit and save them for the last two hours.

Parametric ones receive data from different sensors. They contain information ranging from course coordinates to engine speeds. The readings of each parameter are recorded once per second, and if they begin to change quickly, the recording frequency also increases. Recording is done in cycles, like car video recorders: old data is overwritten by new ones. The cycle duration is quite long and is up to 25 hours, which is enough for any flight.

Both types of aircraft black boxes can be combined into one device. Parametric devices record only the data that may be required when investigating an accident. All recordings on storage media are reliably protected. They can withstand temperatures from -60 to +55 degrees. The main protection is provided by the filler, which is located inside the case.

Operational recorder

Everything that happens on board is recorded by operational instruments that have no protection. Personnel on the ground read the information after each flight for control purposes. The data is decrypted and analyzed to determine whether the crew acted correctly during the flight. In addition, the data obtained helps to determine the depletion of the aircraft’s service life and carry out repair work in a timely manner. This leads to increased equipment reliability and flight safety.

How to decrypt a black box

The data contained in the black box of the crashed planes is not encrypted. To take them, a commission of experts is assembled, who simply read the information on it from the media and write it down in a report in a form convenient for reading and analysis. The procedure for collecting data does not present any difficulties. This can be done at any airport. There is no protection of information from outsiders.
According to statistics, damage to recorders occurs quite often. Information can often be read by gluing together individual fragments of tape and restoring the surviving parts of the microcircuits. This process requires special laboratory conditions and takes a lot of time. The main purpose of recorders on board an aircraft is to obtain data to determine the causes of the disaster and prevent the recurrence of similar situations. The information from the black boxes is analyzed by the dispatcher, pilots, navigators and technical experts.

Prospects for the development of recorders

Every year, more stringent requirements are placed on black boxes. One of the immediate prospects is to record the external surface of the aircraft and its internal parts on video media. Scientists hope that this innovation will lead to a complete replacement of cockpit instruments with displays that will provide more reliable information when an accident occurs. Although it is possible to determine from the dial gauges what he recorded at the last moment before the accident.

In some cases, black boxes cannot be found after a disaster. This mainly happens when the plane falls into deep water. Therefore, in the future it is planned to install recorders that could eject during an accident and remain afloat. We are also exploring the possibility of transferring all data from the black box to servers located on the ground. In this case, there will be no need to search for a recorder. An intact device stops working when there is no power, and this can happen during an explosion. As long as there is power supply, the black box records data in any conditions. Therefore, in the future it is planned to make the recorders self-powered in order to save as much information as possible.

This is interesting

1. To record data, the first black boxes used a steel tape that was housed in a durable casing. The recording was made using a cast iron tip. The amount of information was limited because the foil deteriorated and was only used once.
2. Magnetic tapes have been used since 1965. At first, only sound was recorded on them, and then they began to be used to record data.
3. Microcircuits became a carrier of information only in the nineties.
4. Over 40 years, black boxes have been installed on almost 100,000 aircraft, each costing 10-20 thousand dollars.
5. The service life of recorders has increased since the introduction of certification for them.

Conclusion

Thanks to technological progress, black boxes have become much lighter and more compact, and more reliable in operation. The recorder is not afraid of extreme temperatures and can remain in sea water for a significant period of time and be exposed to various extreme influences, preserving information without damage.
Data taken from the plane's black box helps simulate the environment that preceded the accident and help find the cause of the disaster. Materials from investigations are used to work in training rooms, simulating real situations for pilot training.

What are airplane black boxes - device, description and interesting facts on the site.

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A black box or flight recorder is a device designed to record the basic parameters of an aircraft, and as a rule, this device is used in aviation. Usually there are two of them on an airplane: one is intended for recording conversations, and the second is for recording parameters. The black box is assembled from two hemispheres, which are made of thick fiberglass-reinforced PCB. A recording device is mounted inside this device, storing all data on a wire made of a ferromagnetic alloy.

The black box on the plane (it's actually orange in color), to put it simply, is a tape recorder that records the main parameters of the plane's systems and crew conversations. Previously, a thin wire served as a magnetic carrier, which was enough for a long recording time. The black box is made of shock- and fire-resistant materials and is equipped with an emergency beacon that sends radio signals to facilitate search.



Black boxes are typically made from titanium alloys and other durable materials, ensuring that black boxes will not break or burn during a fire or explosion. The plane burns out in 90 seconds, but the black boxes remain unchanged. Usually they are round and not black, but orange in color.

Typically made of black iron.

The high strength of the box is not due to the fact that it is made of something extra that does not collapse. He himself may remain, but his insides will turn to mush. The material from which the black box is made is, of course, durable. It can be a titanium alloy or alloy steel. But the point is not the strength of the material, but the fact that they are located in places where damage is minimal. Today this is the tail of an aircraft. In addition, the box has a special shape - spherical, which gives additional structural strength. Sizes also affect. During an impact, the acceleration received by the body, and therefore the stresses that arise in it, are proportional to the mass, and the strength is proportional only to the square of the dimensions. The boxes can withstand 3400 g, and static pressure of 2 tons for 5 minutes, water pressure at depths of up to 6000 m. This strength is sufficient, since not a single plane will shy away so that the load on the box would exceed this.

The black box is a material with information (a bulb with voice messages and a microcircuit with general information). As a rule, there are 2 of these boxes. Both of these boxes are made of durable material, such as titanium, so that in the event of an accident, information can be stored that will help determine the causes of the accident.

In fact, the so-called black box, MSRP - magnetic self-recorder of flight modes, is essentially an on-board recorder. The purpose is to preserve maximum information about the passage of the flight. It is made of high-strength, fireproof alloys and has a spherical shape.

In aircraft manufacturing, a black box is a special device that serves to record everything that happens to an aircraft during flight - all changes in its parameters, speed, altitude, roll, etc. This device is installed in a durable alloy steel or titanium housing. The second flight recorder records all conversations between the crew and dispatchers and among themselves. They are placed in places that are least susceptible to destruction in plane crashes.

I am once again convinced that the Big Question project provides an opportunity not only to earn money, but also to learn more about everything that surrounds us. A lot of interesting things have already been written about the black box, and how much more useful and fascinating information can be found on the Internet.

A black box is an on-board device that registers, records, records and stores all flight information. In addition, there is also a tape recorder in the black box, which already records the speech and negotiations of the aircraft crew.

The black box is a titanium armored case. There is also special thermal insulation that prevents damage to the contents of the black box at high temperatures. Airplane black box.

A flight recorder in aviation is a device that records flight parameters, the state of the aircraft’s internal systems, and crew conversations with air traffic controllers and among themselves. This is important for determining the causes of accidents and accidents.

It is not black, but bright orange, to make it easier to find in case of an accident. Made of titanium or extra-strong and heat-resistant alloy steel. Although there are such aviation accidents that no strength is enough. They just reported that during the Boeing accident in Kazan, the black box turned out to be empty. Its contents could have been thrown out during a vertical impact on the ground and they are already looking for it among the rubble.

A black box on an airplane is the popular name for a flight recorder.

The main task is to preserve information under any circumstances. Therefore, on-board recorders are made only from heat-resistant metals.

Black box ( black box) ordinary people call a special device used in aviation for the purpose of recording everything that happens on board during a flight, including internal indicators of sensors and systems of the aircraft and conversations of crew members. So what is a black box on an airplane? Let's figure it out.

What does an airplane's black box look like?

Oddly enough, the black box looks completely different from its name. The traditional design of a flight recorder is a ball or cylinder painted red or orange. This shape and color were not chosen by chance: the rounded outlines are less susceptible to damage during an accident, and the bright shade makes the box more noticeable among other debris.

If the device is painted in bright colors, then why is the flight recorder called a black box? To find out the reason, we need to familiarize ourselves with the history of this important device.

The history of the flight recorder

As the number of aircraft increased during the period of rapid development of civil aviation, more crashes began to occur. To identify the causes of accidents and improve new aircraft models, in 1939 French designers developed a device that was a light-ray oscilloscope, which recorded changes in parameters on film due to the deflection of light rays.

The oscilloscope was protected by a black rectangular case, thanks to which the name that has survived to this day appeared. The first devices looked exactly as people far from aviation imagine black boxes to be – that’s why they began to call them that.

In 1953, Australian D. Warren improved the insides of the black box by adding magnetic tape for voice recording.

The first black boxes were equipped with recorders with a paper tape, which was fed by a clock mechanism. Over time, they were replaced by photo oscilloscopes, and a few years later they were replaced by tape recorders and magnetic tapes.

What's in the plane's black box?

Today, recording of indicators and negotiations is carried out using microcircuits. The electronic boards of the device are fixed on special shock absorbers for additional protection. The board itself is similar in properties and characteristics to a conventional flash drive.

To facilitate underwater searches, black boxes are equipped with ultrasonic beacons. If a plane crashes in the mountains, radio beacons pre-installed in them are used to search for recorders. The beacons are powered by built-in batteries that are activated after impact.

To ensure the safety of the black box during a disaster, it is made of a protective case, which is made from titanium or high-strength steel. In addition to an impact comparable in strength to the explosion of an artillery shell, the black box must withstand being on fire for half an hour and being in water at a depth of 6 km for a month.

How many black boxes are there on an airplane?

Two types of recorders are produced:

• operational
• emergency

The first type is made to control the actions of the crew by ground specialists, so for convenience they are installed in the cockpit. The cases of such devices are not made of titanium, so they are often damaged in an accident.

The emergency recorder has more reliable protection, which ensures its safety in the event of an accident. It is he who becomes the source of information to identify the causes of the plane crash. Accordingly, there are at least two flight recorders inside each aircraft.

How is a black box on an airplane deciphered?

Information recorded on magnetic tape (outdated versions of black boxes that are still used on some aircraft models) or flash drive is decrypted using special software on a computer.

Taking into account the data obtained, specialists simulate the development of events on a simulator or in a virtual program. There is another way to model the behavior of an aircraft - using two-dimensional graphs.

Decryption is required only if the magnetic tape is damaged as a result of an accident. There are two ways:

• To obtain data, experts restore information by applying a drop-colloidal solution of ferromagnetic powder to the tape, which sags over time and produces a graphic image of the magnetic recording.
• It is also possible to decipher the data on the tape using magneto-optical imaging, if the film has retained a sufficient level of magnetization.

So now you know what a flight recorder is. For the emergence of the latest safe airliners, we have to thank not only the design engineers, but also the black boxes, which helped identify the shortcomings of previous models and reduce the frequency of plane crashes.