System for acquiring air data during flight
An air data system includes pitot pressure probes with sensing ports, anti-icing electric heaters, conduits, pressure transducers, outer air temperature sensors, and a computer incorporated in a single streamlined housing attached to the aircraft and composed of axisymmetric surfaces. The system is autonomous and interacts with the aircraft and its subsystems through only the information exchange channels and power supply lines via electric connectors. The housing also incorporates electric adapters and the system includes pitot pressure probes which are faceted pins protruding from the housing having sensing ports between edges. The housing surface or its part can be made of hydrophobic materials. The system can include a set of independent subsystems wherein the units and components are housed in individual streamlined housings attached to aircraft components. The subsystems are autonomous and interact with the aircraft and the other subsystems through the information exchange and power supply lines only.
1. An air data system including pitot pressure probes with sensing ports, anti-icing electric heaters, conduits, pressure transducers, outer air temperature sensors, and onboard computer wherein the above units and components are incorporated in a single streamlined housing attached to the aircraft and composed of axisymmetric surfaces such as a cone, ellipsoid, cylinder, and pyramid, said system for air data acquisition being autonomous and interacting with the aircraft and other subsystems through only the information exchange channels and power supply lines via electric connectors.
2. The air data system of claim 1 , wherein the housing incorporates power adapters, so the system is autonomous in respect of its power supply features.
3. The air data system of claim 1 , wherein the pitot pressure probes are the faceted pins protruding into the air flow and having sensing ports between their edges.
4. The air data system of claim 3 , wherein the number of pitot pressure probes is from one to four.
5. The air data system of claim 1 , wherein outer air temperature sensors are located in separate compartments of the housing which are thermally isolated from other components and take the outer air through holes in the housing.
6. The air data system of claim 1 , wherein the housing surface is made of hydrophobic materials.
7. The air data system of claim 1 , wherein, to expand ranges of measured flight parameters from −180 to +180 degrees for both angle of attack and sideslip angle (thus covering the entire sphere), the system is composed of a plurality of subsystems, in each of them the units are housed in an individual streamlined housing attached to an aircraft component, and the air data subsystem is autonomous and interacts with the aircraft and the other identical subsystems through only information exchange channels and power supply lines.
8. The air data system of claim 7 , wherein said system is equipped with an information interface and an electric connector to be able to interchange information with other similar subsystems via a data bus; this enables them to form a multichannel complex, thus improving measurement reliability.
9. The air data system of claim 1 , wherein said the system comprises two subsystems such that in each of them a housing is a streamlined axisymmetric body equipped with two pitot pressure probes being faceted pins, each pin has six sensing ports, and the axis of each pin is perpendicular to the housing surface and makes an angle of 86-96 degrees to the other pin as seen in the cross section of the housing.
10. The air data system of claim 9 , wherein the number of sensing ports in each pitot pressure probe equals five.
11. The air data system of claim 9 , wherein said housing at the lateral side being outer relative to the aircraft carries two faceted-pin probes, each probe has five or six sensing ports, and the axis of each pin is perpendicular to the housing surface and, relative to the plane being parallel to the aircraft center line and including the housing's longitudinal axis, makes the angle ψ+(43-48)° for the first pin and the angle ψ=−(43-48)° for the second pin.
12. The air data system of claim 9 , wherein one of the lateral sides of the housing in each subsystem has a strut for attaching the housing to the fuselage.
13. The air data system of claim 7 , wherein each subsystem has a single pitot pressure probe being a faceted pin whose axis is perpendicular to the housing surface.
14. The air data system of claim 11 , wherein the axis of each pin is in the plane parallel to a plane including the aircraft center line and perpendicular to the aircraft symmetry plane.