Desenvolvimento de protótipo de horizonte artificial eletrônico

Abstract

General aviation includes all civil aviation operations except scheduled and non-scheduled (air taxi) transportation services. It includes business aviation, flight instruction, civil search and rescue, and agricultural aviation, most of which is conducted by small, unpressurized aircraft. By its nature, it includes many operations with limited budgets, requiring equipment that is not only effective, but also economically viable. Integrating affordable and reliable technologies that increase the operational efficiency of these aircraft, which are often limited by their lack of pressurization, can increase the safety of the flights they perform. In this context, a system based on MEMS gyroscopes, miniaturized devices that allow the measurement of the rate of rotation in various applications and whose operation is based on the Coriolis effect, offers an efficient and low-cost alternative. This system makes it possible to complement the information needed for safe flights in instrument conditions or in zero or extremely limited visual conditions. The objective of this work was therefore to develop an electronic artificial horizon. The prototype integrated accessible and reliable technologies, such as: a Raspberry pi 4 single board computer; BMI 160 and BMP 280 sensor modules; a 4-inch LCD display, combined with firmware that integrates the data provided by these sensors and provides the necessary information in an electronic artificial horizon device. With ease of use, the prototype positively met operational requirements and presented the information needed to act as a support device for unpressurized aircraft.