Virtual Flight Data Recorder for Commercial Aircraft
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 11, Issue 1
Abstract
This paper presents preliminary results of the development of a virtual flight data recorder (VFDR) for commercial airliners. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, currently being revised, mandate the recording of 11 dynamic parameters, not including the control surface deflections. The absence of these data can be critical for crash investigation purposes. This paper proposed the introduction of a VFDR based on a neural network simulator (NNS) and a neural network reconstructor (NNR). The NNS is trained, using flight data for the particular aircraft, to simulate any desired control surface deflections (or any other parameter of interest not recorded by the FDR), minimizing a cost function based on the differences between the available data from the FDR and the output from the NNS. The VFDR scheme has been introduced, tested, and validated with flight data from a Boeing 737-300 with an FDR with extended recording capabilities showing accurate reconstruction of the control surface deflections' time histories. The VFDR can be considered a tool for crash investigations where control surface failures are believed to be a factor.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 11 • Issue 1 • January 1998
Pages: 17 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Jan 1, 1998
Published in print: Jan 1998
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