Antennae on aircraft
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Antennae on aircraft
I've noticed that many new aircraft such as the A350 & B787 have large antennae presumably to allow for satellite communications, Two questions come to mind:
What is the drag penalty?
Could you fit the communication equipment within the spare space that I believe exists above the passenger cabin in wide body planes (forward to where the crew relief bunks are) or failing that build the antennae into the tail, either of which would reduce drag? Does the skin above the antennae have to me made of a separate material?
What is the drag penalty?
Could you fit the communication equipment within the spare space that I believe exists above the passenger cabin in wide body planes (forward to where the crew relief bunks are) or failing that build the antennae into the tail, either of which would reduce drag? Does the skin above the antennae have to me made of a separate material?
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The antenna radome enables it to "see"satellites that could be close to the horizon, while positioning the antenna within the aircraft would exclude many potential contacts from view. The placement aft of the strobe and forward of the vertical stabilizer means that the aerodynamic drag is neutralized as well as possible.
I found the following images on Wikimedia commons, they were shared under CC-SA by cvdr and Politikaner.
I found the following images on Wikimedia commons, they were shared under CC-SA by cvdr and Politikaner.
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The drag penalty is obviously worse for larger protrusions on smaller aircraft. It can be non-negligible....
Making the antenna in effect part of the basic aircraft design is technically possible - but you'd have to design it in from the start, and chances are that when you are designing the aircraft you don't really know what kind of stuff people might want to stick on your aircraft once it gets into service. So the approach is generally to design the aircraft only for the standard baseline antennas - the stuff you must have - and worry about the extras later on.
Making the antenna in effect part of the basic aircraft design is technically possible - but you'd have to design it in from the start, and chances are that when you are designing the aircraft you don't really know what kind of stuff people might want to stick on your aircraft once it gets into service. So the approach is generally to design the aircraft only for the standard baseline antennas - the stuff you must have - and worry about the extras later on.
I have often wondered why more comms stuff and sensors are not designed in from the start. i live close to two Biz Jet airports and on some of the smaller aircraft it seems there is a bulge or fairing of some kind every couple of feet which cannot be good for aerodynamics surely
The 787 was launched in 2002 and entered service in 2011.
The 3g spectrum auction in the UK was in the very early 2000s at about the same time 2g was being used by early adopters. 4g was a glint in the eye and has matured in recent years with 5g in the early stages of development.
The first internet connections appeared on commercial airlines in 2009 and they were (and still are) fitted to aircraft designed, in the case of the 737, in the late 1960s.
Aviation and electronics/telecommunications design and development move at different speeds so designing "in" the necessary antennae, electronic wiring, equipment bays on aircraft for the future is a bit of a guessing game.
I suspect the airframe designers are pondering the issue. Boeing keep talking (but not launching) about a new mid-market airliner and that seems to be the first design that will have an opportunity to design in appropriate antennae but I'm willing to bet that in 20 years time, if Boeing do launch the MMA, the fuselage will have a few unforeseen bumps/antennae.
The 3g spectrum auction in the UK was in the very early 2000s at about the same time 2g was being used by early adopters. 4g was a glint in the eye and has matured in recent years with 5g in the early stages of development.
The first internet connections appeared on commercial airlines in 2009 and they were (and still are) fitted to aircraft designed, in the case of the 737, in the late 1960s.
Aviation and electronics/telecommunications design and development move at different speeds so designing "in" the necessary antennae, electronic wiring, equipment bays on aircraft for the future is a bit of a guessing game.
I suspect the airframe designers are pondering the issue. Boeing keep talking (but not launching) about a new mid-market airliner and that seems to be the first design that will have an opportunity to design in appropriate antennae but I'm willing to bet that in 20 years time, if Boeing do launch the MMA, the fuselage will have a few unforeseen bumps/antennae.
