Avionics

The onboard electronics used for piloting an aircraft are called avionics (AVI-ation electr-ONICS). Avionics include communications and navigation systems, autopilots, and electronic flight management systems (FMS). Onboard electronics that are unrelated to piloting tasks, such as video systems for passengers, are sometimes considered avionics as well. Many of these devices include embedded computers.

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Radiotelephone (two way voice radio) systems have been installed in aircraft since before World War II, and have been widely used for mission coordination and air traffic control. Early systems used vacuum tubes, and because of their weight and size, were installed out of the way with only a control head in place in the flight deck. Standardization on VHF frequences occurred shortly after World War II, and transistor radio systems replaced the tube-based systems shortly afterward. Only minor changes have been made to these systems since the 1960s.

Aircraft: An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight....

Autopilot: An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. Most people understand an autopilot to refer specifically to aircraft, but autopilots for boats and ships are called by the same name and serve the same purpose....

Flight management system: A flight managment system or FMS is a computerized avionics component found on most commercial and business aircraft. The system uses positional data from inertial navigation systems or GPS to locate the aircraft in the world and relay navigational data to the pilots. Additional information from nav...