8/5/2017 5DataInputsfromAircrafttotheCentralAirDataComputer(CADC)

5 Data Inputs from Aircraft to the

Central Air Data Computer (CADC)
by Lee Cloer | Oct 24, 2016 | Automated Test Equipment ATE, General Interest,
Repair and Engineering

Since the Wright Brothers ew the rst glider in 1902, the airplane has gone
through many changes. In order to y the highest, the fastest, the farthest,
and carry the most payload, pioneers have pushed the limits with more
powerful engines, lighter airframes, and better tools like sophisticated
avionics and radar systems. The brightest aerospace engineers continue to
innovate to gain the advantage in the commercial market or in the air during
battle.

Since the very beginning, the air industry has been a common setting for
experimentation. Never ones to settle with good enough, the Wrights
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converted that rst yer from glider to engine powered for sustained ight.
Within a decade, the plane would go o to war,this
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commanders eyes for reconnaissance and artillery spotting during the Italo-
Turkish War of 1911-1912. Need more stability than the early cloth-covered
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wooden monoplane? Engineers developed the biplane. Biplane creates too
much drag? Use lighter metals to replace the cloth skin and wooden
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airframe.

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The need to y faster

and carry more
ammunition led to the
switch from radial and
rotary engines to gas
turbines. Propellers
would get bigger so
aircraft could go faster,
but they still had their
limitations. The jet
engine would provide
the thrust, replacing the
propellor in ghter
aircraft after WWII. To
be victorious in battle,
pilots needed their jets
to out maneuver their
opponents. As a result,
innovative engineers 1902 Wright Brothers Glider
would continue to
develop new technology
so aircraft could turn tighter, go farther, travel faster for longer periods of
time, and carry more ammunition.

In the 1970s, to win the contract for the USAFs Lightweight Fighter (LWF)
project, General Dynamics developed the F-16 Fighting Falcon. This
fourth generation aircraft became the rst to use a y-by-wire ight
control system to make it more maneuverable than earlier-generation
ghters. Fly-by-wire removes the direct cable and pulley connection from the
pilot controls to the aircrafts ight control surfaces. A quadruple-
redundant ight control system reads the pressures applied by the pilot
to the aircrafts controls and very quickly determines how to move the
planes control surfaces to maintain the proper ight path quickly and
smoothly.

Central Air Data Computer CADC

The F-16s ight control system includes the Central Air Data Computer

(CADC), a device which quickly computes altitude, vertical speed, airspeed,
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and mach number from inputs of pitot and static pressure and temperature.

Central Air Data Computer (CADC)> Search for this Part Number
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PartNo: 4025116-905 and4025116-907
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NSN: 6610-01-308-1859

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5 Data Inputs from Aircraft to CADC

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8/5/2017 5DataInputsfromAircrafttotheCentralAirDataComputer(CADC)

1. Pitot static pressure this data provides the CADC with airspeed and
altitude using the pitot tube and/or static port
2. Angle of attack this identies the degree of angle of attack so a pilot
can maintain sucient lift while avoiding the critical angle of attack that
produces a stall
3. Total temperature essential input that identies the true airspeed
based on the static air temperature.
4. Barometric setting this indicates altitude of the aircraft
5. Primary ight control received from the ight control system of the
aircraft

The CADC then converts these inputs into digital data and processes them
for other aircraft subsystems. This data is then provided to the pilot through
the aircrafts various avionics is altitude, airspeed, angle of attack, mach,
temperature, and pressure parameters. CADCs are found in nearly all
modern aircraft and are critical for safe, eective ight operations.

The need to gain the advantage in air superiority will always be there
pushing the next aircraft to be much better than the previous ones. As
aircraft age, obsolete electronics will continue to be maintained or upgraded
to ensure legacy ghters stay at the cutting edge for operators worldwide.

This Central
Air Data
Computer
displayed
here is found
in the F-16
Fighting
Falcon and is
repaired by
Duotech
Services.
Duotech
repair
capabilities

include a
wide range of
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CADCs for Share this post with your friends!
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several dierent aircraft, delivering under budget and within deadlines. (Lead
picture: CADC being tested by the ARTES from landing speeds to mach
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velocities.)
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8/5/2017 5DataInputsfromAircrafttotheCentralAirDataComputer(CADC)

Duotech provides repair services of electronic components for a variety of

xed wing and rotary wing aircraft systems. Duotech maintains an AS9100C
registration and is a qualied repair station for thousands of items.

Get Timeline of the F-16 Fighting Falcon Infographic

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