| Avionics is an exciting field. When you have watched | | | | be broken down into different fields, each with a |
| movies where they show the cockpit, you must have | | | | specialized purpose of its own. |
| noticed the large number of controls and displays. That | | | | Avionics started with communication. There are many |
| is what Avionics is all about. | | | | more aspects to avionics, but it is still highly focused on |
| Avionics is a contraction of the two words Aviation | | | | communication. This also involves onboard |
| and Electronics. Formerly Avionics was all about | | | | communication means, like public address systems and |
| military application; in the 40's most of the operating | | | | intercoms. Navigation is crucial for determining the |
| systems which were involved in aircrafts were either | | | | precise position and direction of the aircraft above the |
| mechanical, electric, radio-frequency based, or | | | | Earth's surface, such as the Global Positioning System. |
| magnetic in nature, and the subsequent invention of | | | | Certainly anyone would expect the display in aircrafts |
| radar in detecting enemy planes during World War II | | | | to be highly robust. These provide user-friendly |
| ushered in the development of a whole new category | | | | systems of determining aircraft altitude and heading, |
| of electronic navigational devices. | | | | both for the pilot and the aircrew. |
| As the vacuum tubes gave way to integrated circuits, | | | | Aircraft flight control systems are used to take off the |
| the field of avionics truly took birth in the 70s. | | | | burden from the pilot at crucial situations, such as |
| Foreseeing the vast potential for this relatively new | | | | during the landing maneuver or while hovering; these |
| field of technology, industry specialists took the | | | | tasks are usually done by the system in order to |
| applications from the military into the area of civilian | | | | minimize the chances of pilot error. Avoiding collisions is |
| aircraft development. | | | | possible with Avionic systems designed specifically for |
| Avionics is currently becoming an increasingly versatile | | | | that purpose. |
| field, with its applications bleeding out from the | | | | Weather systems are used to gauge weather |
| aerospace industry, and into commercial shipping, and | | | | patterns on the aircrafts flight path, and allows the pilot |
| naval and terrestrial vehicle navigation, where the need | | | | to consider evasive options in case the results are |
| to quickly process data in real-time is ever more | | | | unfavorable; currently, satellite systems have been of |
| urgent. Be it money spent on research in the field of | | | | great assistance to navigation, as the aircraft can |
| aircrafts, or money spent to buy aircraft, most of it | | | | assess weather conditions which are too far away to |
| goes into avionics and this field has evolved from being | | | | be detected by in-flight systems. |
| an auxiliary part of an aircraft, to the essential reason | | | | The different systems that talk to each other are |
| for its existence. | | | | cumulatively called the Aircraft management system. |
| The field of Avionics is now of paramount importance | | | | Its tasks include monitoring the status of the engines, to |
| in aircraft engineering. This is because Avionics is the | | | | measuring minute changes in pressure. I would like to |
| brain of the aircraft. This system is primarily located in | | | | think of the avionic aircraft management system as |
| the cockpit of the aircraft, and operates autonomously | | | | the heart and the brain of an aircraft. |
| under the supervision of the pilot. Aircraft avionics can | | | | |