空中的耳朵

EARS IN THE AIR

What is at once a fl ight systems troubleshooter, a fl ight status monitor and a fl ight data recorder in an aircraft? The answer, of course, is aviation recorders or what we call “black boxes”.

它能對飛機(jī)系統(tǒng)進(jìn)行故障排除 ,它能確保飛行安全 ,它是全程監(jiān)測飛行狀態(tài)的“管理員”，它還是飛機(jī)飛行數(shù)據(jù)的記錄者——它就是航空飛行記錄器，俗稱“黑匣子”。

Text by Yunshi Wu Translation by Leo

Although they are called “black boxes”, fl ight recorders are typically painted bright orange and are attached with strips of refl ective tape to improve visibility. A typical black box, with memory units at the core, has the size of four or fi ve red bricks stacked together. Two common categories of fl ight recorders are cockpit voice recorders and fl ight data recorders, which are always installed in pairs on civil airplanes.

黑匣子的外觀呈醒目的橙色，表面貼有反光標(biāo)識(shí)，內(nèi)部裝有內(nèi)部儲(chǔ)存卡，約四五塊磚頭壘在一起那么大。一般民航客機(jī)上會(huì)同時(shí)安裝兩個(gè)黑匣子：一個(gè)用于記錄數(shù)據(jù)和一個(gè)用于記錄語音。

Small, but Powerful

Black boxes can convert a diverse range of fl ight data into digital information and store them, providing important clues to the causes of aviation accidents. Core components – namely, memory units – must meet extremely vigorous quality standards so that data can remain intact, even in very bad conditions.

迷你外觀功能強(qiáng)大

運(yùn)行過程中，黑匣子將飛行數(shù)據(jù)信息轉(zhuǎn)換成通用的電子信號(hào)，讀取信息時(shí)則相反。它的核心部件內(nèi)存單元的質(zhì)量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)非常嚴(yán)格，因此，即使在非常惡劣的環(huán)境條件下，數(shù)據(jù)也能完好無損，因此被用作查找事故原因的主要途徑之一。

Diverse Functions 十八般武藝就看它

?Voice recording

A cockpit voice recorder (CVR) works much like a magnetic tape recorder. It can catch the faintest of cockpit sounds ranging from radio communications to pilots'conversations. The recorder serves as an important link of data between an airline operator and air traffic control.

?Data recording

A flight data recorder (FDR) is another kind of black box used to record aviation data. Today, a typical FDR can record 1,000+ flight parameters, including flight altitude, speed, heading, climb and descent rate, acceleration, fuel consumption, landing gear extension and retraction, time (GMT), aircraft systems conditions and engine parameters, for at least 25 hours.

?Cutting-edge technology

Both CVRs and FDRs, made of state-ofthe-art alloy steel and other fire-resistant, water-proof and heat-resistant materials, can work continuously for 30 days under water.

?Flight Safety

The black boxes are playing an increasingly important role in routine flight safety assurance, aircraft condition monitoring, accident threat elimination and fault location.

?記錄語音

作為駕駛艙聲音記錄器，黑匣子的原理類似于普通錄音磁帶。其內(nèi)部安裝了頻率較高的麥克風(fēng)，任何一點(diǎn)細(xì)微的聲音都會(huì)被它記錄。

?記錄數(shù)據(jù)

黑匣子同時(shí)又是飛行數(shù)據(jù)的記錄器。它主要記錄飛機(jī)至少 25小時(shí)的飛行高度、速度、航向、爬升率、下降率、加速情況、耗油量、起落架收放以及飛機(jī)系統(tǒng)工作狀況和發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)工作參數(shù)等 1000 多個(gè)飛行參數(shù)。

?航空前沿科技

采用合金鋼 ,采用防火材料 ,耐水耐高溫 ,水下可連續(xù)工作30天。

?確保飛行安全

黑匣子在飛機(jī)日常安全維護(hù)，飛機(jī)狀態(tài)檢測 ,消除事故隱患，故障定位中發(fā)揮重要作用。

Evolution of Black Box

Since the fi rst black box was invented during the World War II, black boxes have evolved over three generations. Their ability to survive crashes and resist fi re, water and heat damage has increased dramatically as they are becoming increasingly versatile. They can also record many more parameters. Going forward, black box technology will be expected to contribute more to fl ight safety and monitoring.

黑匣子進(jìn)化史

隨著科技的迅速發(fā)展，黑匣子也在不斷更新?lián)Q代，抗水抗沖擊能力逐漸變強(qiáng)，能夠記錄的參數(shù)更多，功能也愈加全面，在將來，也會(huì)讓飛機(jī)更易監(jiān)控，更為安全。

The first generation of black boxes was used in military aircraft during the WWII. They could record only a small amount of parameters with the use of steel tape.

二戰(zhàn)時(shí)期，第一代黑匣子用于軍用飛機(jī)，由傳統(tǒng)的鋼帶機(jī)械記錄，記錄的數(shù)據(jù)量小。

The second generation of black boxes came about in the late 1950s. They worked much like magnetic tape. With better quality, they could record dozens of parameters.

上世紀(jì)五十年代末，第二代黑匣子出現(xiàn)，其工作原理類似于普通磁帶，質(zhì)量也有所提高，一般能記錄幾十個(gè)參數(shù)。

The third generation of black boxes showed up in the 1990s when semiconductor memory was used to record data. Much progress was made in their ability to record data, emit “pings” and be tracked by satellites.

1990s 第三代黑匣子采用半導(dǎo)體存儲(chǔ)器記錄數(shù)據(jù)，新一代黑匣子無論從記錄功能，還是發(fā)射功能、衛(wèi)星定位功能等等方面都取得了大幅進(jìn)步。

Three Steps to Decode a Black Box三步破譯黑匣子密碼

Connect the recorder to a readout centre and a purpose-made power source

Download and analyse data in special format with exclusive decoding software

Recreate in 3D the entire process of how an aircraft could have gone wrong