FLIGHT DATA RECORDER-COMPATIBLE POSITION TRANSDUCERS

Responding to an FAA mandate requiring that increased flight data parameters be monitored on commercial aircraft, SpaceAge Control, Inc. now offers position transducers compatible with commercial aircraft flight data recorders.

FLIGHT DATA RECORDER-COMPATIBLE POSITION TRANSDUCERS

PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA USA -- Responding to an FAA mandate requiring that increased flight data parameters be monitored on commercial aircraft, SpaceAge Control, Inc. now offers position transducers compatible with commercial aircraft flight data recorders. The products have size, weight, and installation advantages over traditional rod-and-cylinder transducers such as LVDTs and linear potentiometers. In addition, they offer easier mounting than rotary synchro and RVDT sensors.

SpaceAge Control position transducers were first developed in the late 1960's to monitor aircraft flight control surfaces for NASA. Since that time, these products have been used in a broad range of aircraft/aerospace applications for control, acquisition, test, and measurement purposes. Most recently, they have been used with military aircraft flight data recorders.

The flexible and space-efficient products use a stainless steel cable wound around a precision-machined drum. The bearing-mounted drum is mated to a precision sensor based on potentiometric, synchro, RVDT, or encoder technology that translates linear position information to an electrical signal. This transducer technology gives high precision, easy installation, and fast calibration. The products are quickly mounted using high-flexibility mounting bases or custom installation plates.

The products feature anodized aluminum cases, threaded/grooved drums for enhanced repeatability, a minimum -40° to +125° C operating temperature range, and operate for up to 50 million cycles. Over 60 models ranging from 0 - 1.5 to 0 - 42.5 inches are offered in package sizes as small as 0.75-inch square by 0.38-inch thick.

For more information on aviation-related uses, see our Application Note for Aircraft/Aerospace included with this news release. For more information on the FAA ruling requiring expanded parameter monitoring, please visit these Web pages:

http://www.faa.gov/avr/arm/dfdr24.txt (this is the text from the FAA's Web site giving background information on the issue, why the requirement was made, and what the requirement is)

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/textonly/s01txt.html (this is a more concise version of the FAA announcement and communicates Boeing's plan to work with their customers to meet the new requirements)

SpaceAge Control, Inc. designs and manufactures position transducers and air data products for virtually every commercial, military, and general aviation company in the world. The company was founded in 1968 and its quality system adheres to MIL-Q-9858A.

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