A flight data recorder is an electronic device carried aboard an aircraft to record instructions sent to its systems and dozens of flight parameters several times per second, so investigators can reconstruct events after an accident. The French engineers Francois Hussenot and Paul Beaudouin built an early photographic recorder at Marignane in 1939 that scratched flight data onto scrolling film, and the Finnish engineer Veijo Hietala built Mata-Hari in 1942, described as the first modern flight data recorder, a mechanical device for capturing test-flight data. The Australian scientist David Warren, working at the Aeronautical Research Laboratories, conceived a combined data and voice recorder and built a prototype he called the ARL Flight Memory Unit in 1956, followed by the first combined flight-data and cockpit-voice recorder prototype in 1958, while the American engineer James J. Ryan separately patented flight recorder technology he had filed for in 1953, granted in 1960.
Facts
Patent or First-Use Date SignificanceDocuments an aircraft's flight history to assist later investigation 1 FAQs
Why is a flight data recorder called a black box if it is orange?
The name comes from an early light-tight film box; the units are orange to be easy to identify.
The name goes back to the 1930s, when the French engineer François Hussenot built a recorder that projected flight parameters onto photographic film, and that film ran continuously inside a light-tight box. The name black box survived even though the equipment is orange rather than black. Orange was the chosen colour from the outset, because it makes the metal case easier to identify.
Connections
In Field
Source Flight recorder (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Flight recorder, Wikipedia
Early Australian designs, ARL prototype
Warren built a prototype FDR called "The ARL Flight Memory Unit" in 1956
Early designs, Ryan patent
Ryan's "Flight Recorder" patent was filed in August 1953 and approved on November 8, 1960
Overview, purpose
the FDR and CVR document the aircraft's flight history, which may assist in any later investigation.
View the SourceFlight recorder (Wikipedia)
- In Group: Aircraft Flight Instruments, lead: electronic recording device placed in an aircraft to facilitate accident investigation
In Field: Aerospace Engineering, Lead section
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents.
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.