Detection of Aircraft Touchdown Using Longitudinal Acceleration and Continuous Wavelet Transformation.

Jerzy Bakunowicz,Paweł Rzucidło

doi:10.3390/s20247231

Abstract

The paper presents a methodology enabling the detection of aircraft touchdowns based on data obtained from accelerometers attached to the structural parts of the airframe in the cockpit or passenger compartment. Precise determination of the moment and place of touchdown of the main landing gear is challenging when analysing parameters such as height, flight speed and rate of descent. During the tests of the I-31T aircraft, it turned out that vibrations of the aircraft structure caused by the contact of the front and main landing gear with the ground have a repetitive character. In particular, this applies to longitudinal acceleration. The use of continuous wavelet analysis (CWT) allowed finding unique periodic features of the landing phenomenon that distinguish it from other forms of vibration occurring in individual flight phases. Ground and flight observations of experimental aeroplane MP-02 Czajka verified the proposed method of virtual touchdown detection. The results presented in this paper justify that this method may find broader application, especially for the light aircraft class.

Highlights

IntroductionThe unambiguous set down of a touchdown point and time of the landing seems to be a relatively simple task when observing the process from outside of the aeroplane at a fixed position
The unambiguous set down of a touchdown point and time of the landing seems to be a relatively simple task when observing the process from outside of the aeroplane at a fixed position.It becomes manageable even more when using dedicated optical and recording devices
This landing was characterised by an evident touchdown of the main landing gear, visible on the continuous wavelet analysis (CWT) scalograms of the a and a variables

Summary

Introduction

The unambiguous set down of a touchdown point and time of the landing seems to be a relatively simple task when observing the process from outside of the aeroplane at a fixed position. It becomes manageable even more when using dedicated optical and recording devices. The process becomes complicated if the measurement takes place directly on board of a commercially operating aeroplane or, when analysing data collected from flight recorders in the paper [1]. Touchdown point detection of an A320 airliner is determined based on comparison of data recorded from two radio altimeters and an accelerometer. The limited number and quality of data available render the task challenging

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion