What is Blackbox | What is Bluefin and CVFDR | How it helps in finding lost aircraft ?

On March 8, 2014 under unknown circumstances Malaysian Passenger aircraft C-130J Super Hercules named MH370 [MAS370] went missing midway of its flight just after half an hour of its take-off. It is still a mystery what happened with that plane. Predictions also points towards  hijacking of plane either by Russia or America and another theory suggests that it is hijacked by terrorists and plane is their in frontier areas of Pakistan near Afghanistan. So, now question arises how to locate missing plane ? Well in case plane was unfortunate enough to crash, then blackbox is needed to search, which is the only hope to know the reason behind plane crash. Today, we are throwing light on some of the technical aspects about air-crafts. The technologies used in recording of flight activities are :

1. Blackbox [CVR and FDR]
2. Bluefin 
3. Towed Pinger Locator 

What is Blackbox

Blackbox  is device used in aircrafts to capture data of about last 25hours. It keeps the track of last 2hours radio communication occurred over microphones between crew mambers and nearby ground staff. It also stores the other details of flight including speed of aircraft, engine related functions, speed of breeze, height of flight, location of nearby RADARs. It is combination of FDR and CVR. Well, it has inbuilt Underwater Locating Beacon [ULB] which starts working just by coming in contact of water. It is capable of sending signals from the depth of 20 thousand feet. Blackbox recorder is protected by four-layered covering of aluminium, sand, stainless steel and titanium. Blackbox consists of two main parts collectively known as CVFDR :

1. FDR [Flight Data Recorder] : FDR can store 5 to 300 numbers of parameters for a period 25 hours continuously while CVR can store 4 voice channels. Here are a few of the parameters recorded by most FDRs: Time, Pressure altitude, Airspeed, Vertical acceleration, Magnetic heading, Control-column position, Rudder-pedal position, Control-wheel position, Horizontal stabilizer, Fuel flow etc.
2. CVR [Cockpit Voice Recorder] : The CVR records the flight crew's voices, as well as other sounds inside the cockpit. The recorder's "cockpit area microphone" is usually located on the overhead instrument panel between the two pilots. Sounds of interest to an investigator could be engine noise, stall warnings, landing gear extension and retraction, and other clicks and pops. From these sounds, parameters such as engine rpm, system failures, speed, and the time at which certain events occur can often be determined. 

 [PDF] Detailed Study of CVFDR : Click Here

History of Blackbox

Blackbox was invented by Australian David Warren in 1950 while working in Aeronautical Research Laboratories [ARL] of the Defence Science and Technology Organization [DSTO] in Melbourne. David Ronald de Mey Warren was born in Groote Eylandt, Australia in 1925. He was working on Jet based commercial aircraft "Comet" at that time which collapsed suddenly. Then, idea of making something different clicked him that could be capable of recording flight activities. 

Facts About Blackbox

1. Blackbox is fitted there in backside of plane because it is considered most safe area of  aircraft. 
2. It can withstand temperature of around -50°C to 1100°C very easily. 
3. Its battery life is only of 30 days but data can be retrieved even after number of years.
4. Australia became the first nation to make use of blackbox necessary for all the commercial flights in 1960. 
5. In India, Directorate General of Civil Aviation [DGCA] also made it necessary to have CVFDR on every aeroplane and helicopter on January 1, 2005.
6. Black box is not black in colour. Yes, it is right, they are dark orange in colour.
7. Black boxes are normally referred to by aviation experts as electronic flight data recorders.
8.  Only 2 hours of cockpit conversations are kept in it.
9. Black boxes are fitted with an underwater locator beacon that starts emitting a pulse if its sensor touches water. 
10. The crucial part that contains the memory boards, the Crash Survivable Memory Unit [CSMU], is shot out of an air cannon to create an impact of 3,400 Gs and then smashed against a target. It is subjected to a 227kg weight with a pin attached to it, which is dropped onto the unit from a height of three metres.

[PDF] Detailed Study of Blackbox : Click Here

What is Bluefin -21

The Bluefin-21 is a highly modular autonomous underwater vehicle able to carry multiple sensors and payloads at once. It boasts a high energy capacity that enables extended operations even at the greatest depths. The Bluefin-21 has immense capability but is also flexible enough to operate from various ships of opportunity worldwide. The features of Bluefin are as follows :

1. Free flooded modularity : The vehicle design includes swappable payload sections and battery modules for in-field mission reconfiguration. 
2. Efficient Workhouse : It is small size, deep-rated AUV able to execute surveys with demanding requirements typically addressed by larger, more cumbersome platforms. 
3. Accurate Navigation : It uses an INS to provide the best possible navigation accuracy. Dead reckoning drift is typically < 0.1% of distance traveled, yielding higher quality data. 
4. Air shippable : The vehicle, batteries and support equipment can be broken down and packaged into easily transportable sections for time-critical and remote operations.

 [PDF] Detailed Study of Bluefin : Click Here

Towed Pinger Locator

A towed pinger locator is a waterborne device used to locate the sonar "ping" from the underwater locator beacon which is fitted to the Cockpit Voice Recorders and Flight Data Recorders installed in commercial airliners. They can locate pingers at depths of up to 20,000 feet [6,100 m] underwater.

The locator is mounted in a hydrodynamic shell [tow fish], connected by winch behind a surf ace vessel across the search area. The locator listens for the sound emanating from the beacon [pinger]. Once located, the beacon and its attached recorders can be retrieved by divers, submersibles or remotely piloted submarines, depending on depth. A model currently used by the US Navy is the TPL-25, which has a weight of 32 kg and a length of 30 inches. It is generally towed at 1 to 5 knots [1.9– 9.3 km/h].

[PDF] Detailed Study of Towed Pinger Locator : Click Here

You May also like :

What is Amphibian aircraft ? India – Japan Agreement on US-2 Flying Boats | PDF Download