Attitude indicators, also known as artificial horizons, are a pivotal flight instrument found in aircraft that allow pilots to maintain awareness of an aircraft’s orientation in relation to the horizon. While allowing pilots to best maintain proper control and orientation while flying, such indicators are absolutely essential when operating in poor visibility conditions where outside visuals are obscured. In this blog, we will explore what attitude indicators are, what types are available, how to use them, and more.

Across the globe, countless flights occur as nearly 176,000 aircraft take off and land each day. For many of these aircraft, there is little rest between operations as they follow tight schedules and quick turnover processes. To keep millions of passengers in constant movement, it is crucial that such aircraft are always well-maintained for their health and airworthiness. To best care for aircraft, they need to have proper health monitoring, that of which requires various hardware and software to effectively carry out processes. To help you better understand health monitoring, we will discuss Aircraft Health Monitoring Systems (AHMSs) and other similar technology.

Longerons are spar-like structures that run along the length of an aircraft’s fuselage or wingspan. Designed to add rigidity and strength to the airframe, longerons serve to transfer loads and stresses from the aircraft skin to the formers. Typically, longerons are attached to multiple formers and bulkheads, with the number of longerons varying based on the size and design of the particular aircraft.