INTERACTING WITH

A FIGHTER PLANE

avionics
 When you’re in a cockpit,
you want to be friend
with the plane…

That you’ll do using the display

instruments…and that’s a part of the job.
The cockpit is a pilot’s world, consisting in
needles on clock faces and more…
Everyone has a name and a function
Here goes…
 If you have to take off, you need speed.
In fact speed is the essence of all flight…

You’ll know about the right speed watching the airspeed

indicator. This “clock” is a member of the
pitot-static system, so named because it operates by
measuring pressure in the pitot and static circuits. It
working on air pressures, indicating two kinds of
speed: indicated airspeed (towards the current
position) and true airspeed (towards the land).
Western aircrafts display speed in mp/h or knots.
But eastern ones do that in km/h.
If you’re having bad luck and you’re indicator’s
malfunctioning, you’ll have to throw eyes on…
 The machmeter

A machmeter is also an aircraft pitot-static system

flight instrument that shows the ratio of the
true airspeed to the speed of sound, a
dimensionless quantity called Mach number.
This is shown on a machmeter as a
decimal fraction. In oposition with his previous
brother, you have to do some math to be aware
of your speed. If you don’t, you’ll probably
loosing altitude and that’s the reason for
 The altimeter

An altimeter is an instrument used to measure the

altitude of a plane above a fixed level. This is
also a pitot-static system flight instrument,
operating on air pressures by the principle the
greater the altitude - the lower the pressure. But
this device has also a brother, operating on
radio waves. It’s called…
 Radar altimeter

The radar altimeter uses the time taken for a

radio signal to reflect from the surface back to
the aircraft. The radar altimeter is used to
measure height above ground level during
landing, warning the pilot if the aircraft is flying
too low. Of course, this can be told also by
the…
 The artificial horizon

This is a navigational instrument based on a

gyroscope providing an artificially simulated
horizon for the pilot. If you’re airborne, it
probably be best to know if your plane it’s flying
not inverted as in Top Gun movie. This
instrument helps you to avoid false sensations.
If you’re not sure that the horizon tricks you or
not, then look at the…
The vertical airspeed indicator

Also known as variometer, this indicator is a

pitot-static instrument used to determine the
level flight. The vertical airspeed shows the rate
of climb or the rate of descent, measured in feet
per minute or meters per second. This helps
you to be sure that you’re still flying, not going
down…
Yet…you still need where to go. And that’s a job
for the…
 The compass
It is an instrument used to determin the heading. There are
two types of compasses – magnetic and gyroscopic one.

The magnetic compass is perhaps the simplest instrument

employed to indicate direction being used widely by sailors
and aviators alike. In airplanes, the magnetic compass is
primarily used for navigational purposes needing no inputs
for the pilot or onboard systems, therefore it is wide used in
all airplanes, from single-engine aircraft to large commercial
jets. However, the errors due to plane’s evolutions and
terrestrial field magnetic positioning make necessary the
use of the…
 The gyrocompass
A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which
is based on a fast-spinning disc and rotation of the
Earth to automatically find geographical direction. They
have two significant advantages over
magnetic compasses: they find true north as
determined by Earth's rotation and they are unaffected
by magnetic fields. This means that wherever you want
to reach, you’ll probably not arrive in the outer
hemisphere…

These are all navigation instruments. Fortunately, someone

thought that it will be best to gather them into a single place…
 The head up display

A head-up display also known as a HUD is a

transparent display that presents data such as
speed, altitude, bearing, attitude, space positioning
without requiring pilots to look away from their usual
viewpoints. It’s placed on the top of the instruments
panel, at the same level with pilot’s eyes. But this
device is not the ultimate shout of technology,
cause it’s override by…
 Helmet-mounted display

A helmet-mounted display (HMD) is a device used in

some modern aircraft, especially combat aircraft. HMDs
project information similar to that of head-up displays
(HUD) on an aircrew’s visor or reticle, allowing him to
obtain situational awareness and/or cue weapons systems
to the direction his head is pointing.
This is the result of modern days conception of avionics that
the pilot must be undisturbed, during a battle, by other
actions. And that’s the beginning of the new avionic
concept…
 HOTAS

HOTAS, an abbreviation for Hands On Throttle-And-

Stick, is the name given to the concept of placing
buttons and switches on the throttle stick and
flight control stick in an aircraft's cockpit, allowing the
pilot to access vital cockpit functions and fly the
aircraft without removing his hands from the throttle
and flight controls. In the modern military aircraft
cockpit the HOTAS concept is sometimes enhanced by
the use of Direct Voice Input to produce the so-called
"V-TAS" concept, and augmented with helmet mounted
display.
Detailing…
 The Stick

Constantly to previous statements, a stick

commands, beside the flight position and
brake functions on ground, the trim
position of the stabilators, the automated
pilot on/off switch, the radar calibrating
button, selection of guns and of course,
the trigger. Also the knob of jettison the
external tankers, while…
 The throttle

Operates over the power of the engine, aerial

brakes, radio communications, selection of
targets and more.
And this is the concept that allows the pilot to
watch on the exterior, while his hands keep the
plane under the touch control.

The actions and information getting to the pilot

are facilitated, though, by the presence of…
 Multi-function display

A multi-function display (MFD) is a small LCD

screen in an aircraft surrounded by multiple
buttons that can be used to display
information to the pilot in numerous
configurable ways. MFD allow the pilot to
display their navigation route, moving map,
weather radar on the same screen.

Occasionaly, he could assure himself that all

goes well on board by sweeping eyes on…
 Other instruments

Beside those above presented instruments, a plane

is fitted with engine control instruments, such as
thermometer, measuring the gases temperature,
tachometer – wich measures the rotation of the
shafts of the engine, indicators presenting the fuel
and oil pressures, flowmeters for the quantity of
fuel inside tanks…

But if the bad luck reaches you, they might wanna

know what happens. Will do that by refering to…
 Flight data recorders

Popularly referred to as a "black box“, in fact

there are two types of these systems: FDR and
CVR and the’re not painted in black but in
orange, for better visibility.
A FDR (flight data recorder; also ADR, for
accident data recorder) is an electronic device
employed to record any instructions sent to any
electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device
used to record specific aircraft performance
parameters. The data recorded by the FDR is
used for accident investigation…
 …while a cockpit voice recorder (CVR), is a
flight recorder used to record the audio
environment inside the cabin of an aircraft for
the purpose of investigation of accidents and
incidents. Like the flight data recorder (FDR),
the CVR is typically mounted in the tail section
of an airplane to maximize its survival in a
crash, but is used mostly on commercial
planes. On jet fighters FDR and CVR are merged
in one standalone box.

This should do about knowing the plane from

inside and…
…if you’ve get familiar interacting with a
jet fighter, it’s probably time to make a
flight without worrying for having a
crash, because we’ll know what will be
happening…

Enjoy your flight!