Why worry about air data accuracy? Because at the cruising altitude where jets operate, congestion is building. So the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European authorities are tightening the buffer vertical separation between the jets.

In crowded skies, maintaining the safety and correct calibration of aircraft cockpit instrumentation is paramount. Air Data Test Sets provide essential and dependable support to aircraft operators and aviation service organisations around the world, ensuring that Pitot Static systems get the very best attention.

Operators are required to monitor the accuracy of their aircraft’s air data systems. And that’s where air data test sets come in. These units test the accuracy of an aircraft’s air data system, both for the system’s certification and to assure the system’s continued high performance.

Air data test sets vary, but all high-end sets include three components that simulate flight at various altitudes, while the aircraft is on the ground:

• Pressure/vacuum supply unit or, more simply, a pump capable of providing both vacuum and pressure in ranges suitable to test cockpit instrumentation;

• A twin-channel pressure control unit, which takes the rough output from the pump and provides precise pneumatic stimulus to the aircraft or instrument under test; and

• A remote control hand-held terminal that enables the Air Data Test Sets to be driven from the cockpit or flight deck.

Many companies claim their air data test sets are RVSM compliant. Essentially, they are able to verify that their test sets are four times more accurate than the units their sets test.

MEMSCAP’s ranges of products provide world class pressure measurement and control performance for Air Data Test Sets.