Air data boom
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An air data boom provides air pressure, temperature, and airflow direction data to data acquisition systems for the computation of air, ground, and water vehicle orientation, speed, altitude/depth, and related information. Air data booms can be used as primary sensors or as a "measurement standard" of which primary sensors and instruments are compared to.


Purpose and overview

An air data boom is used to collect source data during the testing of air vehicles, ground vehicles, and water-borne vessels. The air data boom is mounted on the vehicle in a location that allows for relatively undisturbed air to be measured. To attain such undisturbed air, mounting is usually done on the nose, wing, or upper horizontal stabilizer of the vehicle.


Typical components

Air data booms may measure one, some, or all of these capabilities: * angle of attack (AoA, alpha) * angle of sideslip (AoS, beta) *
static pressure In fluid mechanics the term static pressure has several uses: * In the design and operation of aircraft, ''static pressure'' is the air pressure in the aircraft's static pressure system. * In fluid dynamics, many authors use the term ''static pres ...
(Ps) *
total pressure In physics, the term total pressure may indicate two different quantities, both having the dimensions of a pressure: For compressible flow the isentropic relations can be used (also valid for incompressible flow): : p_t=p\left(1+\fracM^2\right)^ ...
(Pt, pitot pressure) *
outside air temperature In aviation terminology, the outside air temperature (OAT) or static air temperature (SAT) refers to the temperature of the air around an aircraft, but unaffected by the passage of the aircraft through it.http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_G ...
(OAT) *
total air temperature In aviation, stagnation temperature is known as total air temperature and is measured by a temperature probe mounted on the surface of the aircraft. The probe is designed to bring the air to rest relative to the aircraft. As the air is brought to ...
(TAT) Specialized air data booms may also contain mission-specific sensors such as humidity sensors, ice detectors, accelerometers, strain gages, and the like.


Synonyms

An air data boom may be referred to by a variety of names, including: * flight test boom * vehicle test boom * nose boom * wing boom * YAPS head (for Yaw-And-Pitch Sensor head)


Manufacturers

Most air data booms are either procured from niche manufacturers such as SpaceAge Control,SpaceAge Control
/ref> Goodrich,, or created by vehicle manufacturers, R&D facilities, and test organizations.


See also

*
Flight test Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...
*
Flight test instrumentation Flight test instrumentation (FTI) is monitoring and recording equipment fitted to aircraft during flight test. It is mainly used on experimental aircraft, prototype aircraft and development aircraft - both military and civil, and can monitor variou ...
* Angle of attack *
Pitot-static system A pitot-static system is a system of pressure-sensitive instruments that is most often used in aviation to determine an aircraft's airspeed, Mach number, altitude, and altitude trend. A pitot-static system generally consists of a pitot tube, a s ...
*
Pitot tube A pitot ( ) tube (pitot probe) measures fluid flow velocity. It was invented by a French engineer, Henri Pitot, in the early 18th century, and was modified to its modern form in the mid-19th century by a French scientist, Henry Darcy. It ...
*
Total air temperature In aviation, stagnation temperature is known as total air temperature and is measured by a temperature probe mounted on the surface of the aircraft. The probe is designed to bring the air to rest relative to the aircraft. As the air is brought to ...


References


Airdata Measurement and Calibration

Calibration of Air Data Systems and Flow Direction Sensors

Wind-Tunnel Calibration of a Combined Pitot-Static Tube and Vane-Type Flow-Angularity Indicator at Mach Numbers of 1.61 and 2.01
{{Notelist-lr Aircraft components Sensors