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