Television – Special applications – Observation of or from a specific location
Patent
1992-06-23
1994-02-01
Britton, Howard W.
Television
Special applications
Observation of or from a specific location
340973, 358335, 358117, 381183, B64D 4708, H04N 718
Patent
active
052836436
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a flight safety device for small to medium aircraft, and more particularly, to a simplified flight information recording method and device which can take the place of a flight recorder and a voice recorder used in larger aircraft.
PRIOR ART
Large commercial aircraft are required to carry a flight data recorder that records and stores digitalized flight information for the preceding 24 hours in a memory device and maintains such memory as an operational record. In addition, a voice recorder is also carried on board large aircraft to store voice/sound recordings for the preceding 30 minutes. On the other hand, since aircraft devices, most small to medium aircraft are not equipped with these recording devices.
Japanese Patent Appln. No. 62-113700 and Japanese Utility Model Appln. No. 63-110200 disclosed technical methods for a pilot to verify exterior appearance of the fuselage during flight.
The conventional digital flight recorder and voice recorder installed in large aircraft are rigidly built, bulky and heavy because these recorders must possess high reliability, resistance against vibration, pressure, and heat. Therefore, these recorders are not suitable for medium to small aircraft because of their shape, mass and weight. In addition, the conventional flight control system displacement detectors and their installation are not only too complicated to be applied to small sized aircraft, but they are difficult to install. Furthermore, since the installation of such equipment on small aircraft is not required by applicable Aviation Regulations, flight information recording devices for small aircraft have never been developed.
In the prior art, a device that enables a pilot to detect any damage an aircraft may sustain during flight can be accomplished from the cockpit through peep holes provided on the top and bottom surface of the fuselage by using a combination of optical fiber, rotating mirrors, and zoom lenses. Another device is a retractable rear view mirror for emergency use. This mirror can be pushed out of the side of the fuselage in front of the pilot in order to assess damage that may have occurred. However, since the purpose of both of these devices is not to record the state of damage or the effects and changes occurring during flight conditions but rather, to verify the exterior appearance of the fuselage during flight, it is difficult to evaluate when there is an accident as to whether or not the pilot has properly reacted and coped with an emergency situation during flight. In addition, information regarding proper inspection and repairs is particularly important and must be completed before and after each flight.
Once an accident occurs, regardless of the size of the aircraft, a disaster will result which will most likely involve not only the crew but also occupants at the crash site. Effective prevention measures must be taken to eliminate aircraft accidents, and of equal importance is an accident investigation. Oftentimes, the accident investigation for small aircraft is only based on the information obtained from the wreckage of the aircraft and/or instruments recovered from the crash site. For large aircraft, the recording devices such as the digital flight data and voice recorders recovered can be decoded and analyzed after an accident, in order to help determine the cause of the accident. It is extremely difficult to determine the causes of small aircraft accidents if a deficiency of the aircraft, a sudden change of the pilot's physical condition or an error in the pilot's judgement is the cause of the accident. Without any objective flight information record, possible causes of accidents may not be properly ascertained. Under these circumstances, accidents involving small aircraft keep occurring every year without an effective measures to prevent their reoccurrence. There has been a long felt need to develop a compact and reasonably priced flight recorder for small aircraft capable of improving safety by recording flight conditions a
REFERENCES:
patent: 3278680 (1966-10-01), Hummel
patent: 4568972 (1986-02-01), Arents
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