AIR DATA SENSOR APPARATUS AND METHOD

摘要

The invented apparatus (1) measures and generates air data indicative of the conditions experienced by an aircraft (17), and includes at least one sensor (2) and an associator (6). The sensor (2) detects air pressure exerted against the aircraft's external surface (3), and generates a sensor signal based on the sensed air pressure. Preferably, the sensor (2) includes a surface that deflects under the exerted air pressure, and the amount of deflection at separate locations of the surface is used to generate the sensor signal. Also, the apparatus (1) can include a conformal member (4) that is mounted to the sensor (2). The conformal member (4) supports or comprises the external surface of the aircraft, and is flush with the aircraft surface (3) in proximity to the conformal member to preserve the aircraft's aerodynamic shape. The associator (6) is coupled to the sensor (2) to receive the sensor signal, and maps the sensor signal level to a corresponding air data quantity such as airspeed, side slip, angle-of-attack, and static and dynamic air pressure. Preferably, the associator (6) is implemented as a learning system such as a neural network, that can be trained to generate accurate air data based on the sensor signal. The invention also includes a related method.