Avionics Bay
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Avionics bay, also known as E&E bay or electronic equipment bay in
aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
is known as compartment in an aircraft that houses the
avionics Avionics (a portmanteau of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the ...
and other electronic equipment, such as flight control computers, navigation systems, communication systems, and other electronic equipment essential for the operation. It is designed to be modular with individual components that can be easily removed and replaced in case of failure and is designed to be highly reliable and fault-tolerant with various backup systems. In larger commercial airplanes, the main avionics compartment is typically located in the forward section of the aircraft under the cockpit. Purpose of its location is to provide easy access to the avionics and other electronic equipment for maintenance and repair. For example, on larger aircraft such as the
Boeing 747-400 The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The ''Advanced Series 300'' was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, target ...
, the avionics bays are divided into 3 parts - the main equipment center (MEC), the center equipment center (CEC) and the aft equipment center (AEC).


Components

Typically avionics bay contain plug-in modules for: *
Flight Control Computer A flight control computer (FCC) is a primary component of the avionics system found in fly-by-wire aircraft. It is a specialized computer system that can create artificial flight characteristics and improve handling characteristics by automating a ...
(FCC) *
Autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allow ...
* Automatic flight director system (AFDS) ** Autothrottle system (A/T) **
Mode control panel In aviation, the mode control panel (MCP) is an instrument panel that controls an advanced autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do n ...
(MCP) **
Flight management computer A flight management system (FMS) is a fundamental component of a modern airliner's avionics. An FMS is a specialized computer system that automates a wide variety of in-flight tasks, reducing the workload on the flight crew to the point that mode ...
(FMC) *Primary flight computers (PFC) *Actuator control electronics (ACE) *
Flight data recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated nam ...
*
Cockpit voice recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated nam ...
*Battery and battery charger The avionics bay also contains the oxygen tanks for the pilots in case of a cabin depressurization


Thermal management in spacecraft

In spacecraft, smoke detection is not practical for avionics bays as there is no forced airflow in the compartment. Suppressants, such as Halon, operate by either chemically interrupting the combustion process or by reducing the oxygen concentration within the bay's atmosphere.


In popular culture

The avionics bay of a 747-200 was used as a way to deploy the military into an aircraft in the movie
Executive Decision ''Executive Decision'' is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Stuart Baird (in his directorial debut) and written by Jim Thomas and John Thomas, who also produced the film with Joel Silver. It stars Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, ...


References

{{Reflist Avionics Aircraft instruments Aircraft systems Aerospace engineering Aircraft