Tue, May 30, 2023
Aviation publications LOVE to write about all the new wiz-bangs that are seen front and center is today's cockpits... the latest generation of cockpit displays are about a slick as things get these and look sexy as hell. BUT... what about the BEHIND the scenes... those components that allow all those super-cool new technologies to remain... well, super cool?
So... we spent some time with some of the coolest people we know, the folks of Sandia Aerospace, to get the skinny on avionics cooling fans and why such inexpensive devices might be some of the best bargains in all of aviation.
Sandia notes that, "It is well known that reducing the temperature at which electronics components operate increases their life expectancy. The avionics you depend on for critical navigation and communication functions endure one of the harshest environments of any electronics... the avionics stack!
Today’s avionics are housed in smaller and smaller packages that retain heat. They are also subjected to chimney effect, where the heat from the bottom radios rise throughout the entire radio stack, increasing overall operating temperatures. Today, engineers are making greater use of surface mounted devices to reduce size and weight. And although these devices use less power, they are more sensitive to heat."
Mind you, its not enough to just keep things cool... but to let you know when they aren't... Sandia offers three cooling solutions that offer fault detection outputs that can notify a pilot whenever the cooling unit drops below a preset level. This allows you to get service for the unit as soon as practical, and reduces potential harm to your avionics.
More News
An Amazing Experience Awaits The Chosen Few... Oshkosh, to us, seems the perfect place to get started on watching aviation recover the past couple of years... and so ANN is putting>[...]
“NBAA has a tremendous responsibility to the business aviation industry, and we are constantly collaborating with them. Our flight departments, professionals and aircraft own>[...]
Dead Reckoning Dead reckoning, as applied to flying, is the navigation of an airplane solely by means of computations based on airspeed, course, heading, wind direction, and speed,>[...]
Aero Linx: Vertical Aviation Safety Team (VAST) We are a public–private initiative to enhance worldwide flight operations safety in all segments of the vertical flight indust>[...]
We're Everywhere... Thanks To You! Even with the vast resources and incredibly far-reaching scope of the Aero-News Network, every now and then a story that should be reported on sl>[...]