History of IT in Aviation

1917 they were using cameras, that’s Information Technology by any definition.

One of the first digital computers used in an airborne system was probably the Elliot 920B (8k core memory) at the heart of the mission system in the Nimrod MR1. This was in service in 1969, the operating program (not an OS!) was loaded using a very heavy box that read the mylar tape instructions. A later innovation was a program written to compute the figures derived from compasss swings, the Navs loved that one!

thanks for the help guys…the presentation is looking quite good and between me and avro baby, its nearly complete

either way, both were crap…….:D

In todays RAF we are (almost) reliant on IT for Aircraft maintenance operations. The babckbone of this is a system called LITS. All work orders/jobcards are done on it as is asset exchanging and a whole load of other stuff.

You should in theory be able to enter an aircraft serial and find out the serial number of most of the LRU’s fitted to it. Along with this you can see MOD states, SEM/UOR/STI etc embodiment states and the like.

It can also be used to trace back through the database and complile a fault history for specific faults either on one particular Aircraft, or all Aircraft of that type.

I believe the RAF bought it from a South African Mining company!

Back in the 80’s they introduced SEMA/SAMA (station engineering management aid/station administration management aid).
Only some data was recorded, like fatigue meter readings and hours on components with log cards.

196?2: (DH)HSD: TRACE (Tape Recorded Automatic Check out Equipment) for RAF VC10/Belfast, to fault-locate in a dozen or so (LRUs) changeable boxes, mainly Autoland. Beast, slow, bad, expensive. Distrusted by Operator, who preferred eyeballs and fingers. (I think BEAC took it for Trident).
196?4: first (that I know of) application of quasi-digital mainframe Honeywell (?360) for RN Buccaneer 2 simulator, by Redifon Air Trainers,Aylesbury. Installed Lossiemouth in purpose-built cavern, damped for vibration from nearby runway movements. Clean-room, noddy-suited personnel. Compare with today’s kit from CAE, or Thales – the Crawley site may help you.
1969: definition by EASAMS of first (anywhere) airborne digital data bus for (to be) Tornado IDS. 32K Main Computer, uplifted 1972 to 40K, requiring revamp of the vibration, temperature and cube of the avionics bay, delaying/cost-increasing PO.4 avionics prototype’s first flight. Snippet: MLU, Tornado GR1-GR4, which was largely a Gameboy carve-up of the cockpit, cost more than the unit procurement price of GR1.

Given you have no time, try: Data-link, real-time download of airborne measured test parameters. (MRCA)Tornado flight test revolved around Base 10 (a US Co.) kit which included a technique called video. 1974. If you have a PhD-timeframe, trace SAM evolution, from thermionic valve, fire and hope, through to today’s kit, Nintendo-joystick-controlled from afar.

Aero may have stimulated IT, in whichever aspect you choose, but its meagre production volume soon caused the industry to move into commercial applications. Games, not avionics. Snippet (rumour?): GW1 Tornado GR1 crews bought marine GPS before deployment: more accurate than their 1969-defined cockpit.

In todays RAF we are (almost) reliant on IT for Aircraft maintenance operations. The babckbone of this is a system called LITS. All work orders/jobcards are done on it as is asset exchanging and a whole load of other stuff.

You should in theory be able to enter an aircraft serial and find out the serial number of most of the LRU’s fitted to it. Along with this you can see MOD states, SEM/UOR/STI etc embodiment states and the like.

It can also be used to trace back through the database and complile a fault history for specific faults either on one particular Aircraft, or all Aircraft of that type.

I believe the RAF bought it from a South African Mining company!

Roger, off topic I know but you weren’t allowed near the compounding control room at the ‘Fort’ were you?…..

I wasn’t even allowed near the Fort itself! Despite working for the company for 9 years (when it was, of course, ONE company) my first visit to Fort Dunlop was a couple of years ago. The current aircraft tyres operation had a lot of very old machines (that still do an excellent job) but I don’t recall what their computers or weighing equipment were like.

Roger Smith.

Another aspect is computers in the aircraft industry.
C. 1965 during my apprenticeship at Dunlop (in the era of angliscising the F-4) computers were being tried out for machining operations on auto-lathes, milling machines, etc. There was a (large) air-controlled computer room with restricted access and approved personnel wore white smocks/hats.

Roger Smith.

Roger, off topic I know but you weren’t allowed near the compounding control room at the ‘Fort’ were you?

The early 1960s saw the introduction of ‘solid-state control systems’ called Select-O-Weigh blending systems from Howe Richardson Scale [later Chronos Richardson]. I’ve written countless articles about them and the weighing systems they controlled.

I believe the Autosport Division may still operate the later incarnations – happy hours videoing these at the ‘Fort’, but I always hated the smell!!

More reminiscences next time we meet.

Wonder if the electrics/radios that controlled the Queen Bee would qualify as a computer and that goes back to the 1930s ????

Planemike

.
“Information Technology” isnt really limited to the current or past world of computers , digital memory, processing or display systems. Aviation’s vacuum and pressure instrumentation were analogue information systems, morse code was the early communications protocols, blind flying panels were the GUI of their day.

The wind vane speed indicator of the Tigermoth, the graduated fuel tank float gauges visible in the wings of a T6, the fuel tank floating dipstick sitting in front of the windscreen of the Auster are all simple mechanical, but very important “information systems”.

The 1950’s were full of weird and wonderful paper chart recorders acting as black boxes.

“Information Systems” are all about the collection of data and presention of information, advances in technology simply modifies the methods and mediums of doing so.

Regards

Mark Pilkington

Another aspect is computers in the aircraft industry.
C. 1965 during my apprenticeship at Dunlop (in the era of angliscising the F-4) computers were being tried out for machining operations on auto-lathes, milling machines, etc. There was a (large) air-controlled computer room with restricted access and approved personnel wore white smocks/hats.

Roger Smith.

A quick ramble in the early days attic:
Ground Side:
Computer Reservation Systems were available in the early 1970’s
Check-in Systems (now calls DCS and do More) in Early 1970’s
Flight Information Systems in Early 1970’s
Operations Control Systems – Late 1970’s
Maintenance Control Systems – Mid- 1970’s
Crewing Systems (useful ones) – Early 1980’s
Integrated Airport Operations Systems (FIDS/Airport Scheeduling etc) late 1970’s

As for Airborne Systems I always think the INS systems in the mid-1970’s were the first serious ‘computer system’ as against aid, but there are many in this forum better qualified to judge.

It also depends how far you want to go with the presentation and what direction you want to take it.

For PC based software you could look at maintenance aids such as the RAF’s LITS system which is a glorified data management system.

Sticking with maintenance (you know me…) you could investigate the use of computers in aircraft based diagnostics – on board maintenance systems on an A310 will tell you which cabin bulbs need changing – all at the press of a button (or ten)

For aircraft systems in the past, you could go towards the previously mentioned mechanical computers from WW2 onwards.

You could look at autoland systems where the computer assesses the data it is given by the flight control systems and compares it to known data for the airport and what is given by airport based systems – think Trident.

You could look at modern civil aviation with the ARINC series of Data busses – Airbus fly by wire, or even look towards the future with Boscome Down’s experiments with Fly by Light….

Just a thought -in the modern aircraft maintenance hangar, there are no paper copies of maintenance manuals – everything is done with CD ROMs and internet links. Paperwork is getting more and more PC based – even the old RAF form 731 (serviceable/unserviceable labels for removed components) had a barcode – and that was 10 years ago!

You need to quantify what you want to present, simply because ‘IT in aviation’ is a monstrous subject.

If you need any help with it, just drop me a line and pop up to the academy (old Gill hangar)

Wasn’t the norden bomb sight a kind of mechanical computer? Sure I read that somewhere.
Whether it qualifies as ‘IT’ is a different matter. It gave information as to when to drop the bombs, and was quite hi-tech for it’s day.
There’s even a training video for it here.

John

You could start with the use of digital computers in aircraft. To my knowledge, they have been used since the 1970s. Also ‘glass cockpits’ and auto flight systems, fly by wire systems, flight data recorders, missile electronics. And that’s just for a start!

Do you assume, as many young people of today do, that ‘computers’ started in the home/office environment? Computers, even mechanical and electro-mechanical ones, have been in use in aviation (and other military systems) since the second world war…

Bri 🙂

Scott,
There was an attempt in the early 70’s to instal on the VC10’s (and other RAF Transport a/c IIRC) a one-way system of sending charts to a/c in flight. These were using small 9-inch wet-facsimile machines (forerunners of today’s FAX system). The data would have been transmitted using the Support Command world-wide HF SSB comms system (“ARCHITECT”). Don’t know what became of the trials. I suspect ‘Not A Lot’!!!!
HTH
Resmoroh

Information Technology..sorry, should have made it a bit clearer 🙂

IT = Inclusive Tour

or

IT = Information Technology?

Two things would be useful – what is your earliest example (a starting point) for IT in aviation and what is your definition of ‘IT’?

Roger Smith.