The majority of reasons for aviation accidents that occurred with the state aircraft in the Russian Federation are due to the flight personnel manifestations of the “personality factor” during the flight mission. However, the aviation system security record and evaluation of “personality factor” influence is carried out fragmentarily at present and does not have a systemic character. This is the factor that impedes the use of a systematic approach to the problem of the human factor influence on flight safety. In this regard, there is a need to quantify the "personality factor" impact on the safety of the upcoming flight in order to reduce this impact. The solution to this problem will require the determination of the most significant pilot’s upcoming flight “personality factor” safety indicators set and a substantial description of each specific indicator value. Due to the lack of the assessment mechanisms to solve this problem which are known to the authors the article substantiates the need to develop a tool for the quantitative assessment of potential threats impact associated with the social and psychophysiological restrictions of a human-operator on ergatic system safety controlled by this person. As a result of a personality-oriented approach to assessing the state of system security, implemented by means of using an integral indicator determining the total threats magnitude of a particular human operator personality factor to the ergatic system state the total human operator hazard indicator, and developing criteria for ergatic system safety this indicator influence degree; a universal tool for assessing the influence of the personality factor on ergatic system safety has been obtained. This tool is called the “The ergatic system personality factor formalizing method". The obtained method allows us to develop a methodology for assessing the influence of the operator’s personality factor which is applicable to any ergatic system, including the system of “crew – aircraft”.

One of the main indicators characterizing the quality of meteorological support of flights is the justifiability of aviation weather forecasts and forecasts of dangerous weather phenomena. For the detection and prediction of dangerous meteorological weather phenomena are currently used very advanced systems, which include meteorological radar stations near the airfield zone. The reliability of the forecast of such dangerous weather events as icing, thunderstorms, hail, squally wind according to the information from the meteorological radar stations of the near airfield zone significantly depends on the data on the height of the zero isotherm. The correctness of the entered values of the zero isotherm position directly affects the probability of false alarms, and, consequently, the degree of justification of weather forecasts and forecasts of dangerous weather events. The source of information about the position of the zero isotherm can serve as radiosonding data of the atmosphere. However, the data of aerological radiosonding of the atmosphere are not operational. In addition, at present, obsolete systems are used on Roshydromet aerological network in addition to fairly modern aerological radar systems. This, in conjunction with the sufficiently low cost of the network of aerological stations on the territory of the Russian Federation does not allow the operational use of radiosonding data to determine the height of the zero isotherm at a particular airport. An alternative source of information about the position of the zero isotherm for solving the problems of meteorological location are temperature profilers. Temperature Profiler refers to the remote means of measuring the parameters of the atmosphere, and the principle of its operation is based on the methods of radiometry. Use the temperature of a caliper can be operatively obtain information about the temperature profile at the airport and, therefore, it can be a source for weather radar data on the zero isotherme, and isotherme -22°C, which is also used to identify hazardous weather phenomena. In this paper, the spatial variability of the zero isotherm position is analyzed according to the data of two temperature profilers. As a result of experimental studies, it was determined that within a radius of about 10 kilometers from the installation site of the Profiler, the measured temperature profiles remain virtually unchanged. This result can be used in the development of methods of placement of meteorological support for flights at the airport. Of practical interest are similar studies for airfields located in the mountainous, coastal and other geographical regions of Russia.

The article presents the tasks, characteristic features, tactical and technical characteristics, the possible location and scope of the near-airfield meteorological radar complex. The analysis is made of the comparison of meteorological radar data from the near-airfield meteorological radar complex with reliable sources of meteorological information obtained during preliminary, acceptance, certification tests. The features of carrying out during the validation tests of meteorological radar data of the near-airfield meteorological radar complex are described, namely: dangerous meteorological phenomena (showers of different intensities, thunderstorms with a probability of 30-70%, 71-90%, > 90%, hail of varying degrees of intensity, squall of different intensities), velocity and direction of movement of cloud formations, vector velocity field. Examples of comparing the data of the near-airfield meteorological radar complex with data from a priori reliable sources of information are shown in the form of maps, graphs and tables. It is shown that the data of the near-airfield meteorological radar complex were obtained during testing and certification covering the warm and cold periods of the year, the sample size is statistically significant (except for the sample to assess the vector velocity field from data of aircraft and radar due to the spatial-temporal features comparing data from the two indicated information sources). It was established that the near-airfield meteorological radar complex provides acceptable in accordance with the requirements the construction quality of meteorological phenomena maps, the vector velocity field and the estimation of the cloud formations movement vector. The article illustrates the results of the statistical analysis of the data of the near-airfield meteorological radar complex, obtained personally by the author of the article. Analysis of meteorological data of the near-airfield meteorological radar complex was carried out with the aim of further exploitation of the near-airfield meteorological radar complex.

Modern gas turbine engines operate under changing temperature loads. Therefore, one of the important characteristics of the protective coatings used on the turbine blades is their high resistance to the occurrence and development of cracks under mechanical and thermal loads. The applied effective systems of internal heat removal of the cooled turbine blades lead to an increase in their heat stress. At present, cracks arising from thermal fatigue are one of the common defects of the protective coatings used on turbine blades. The heat resistance of coatings at high temperatures is determined by three factors: the shape of the part on which the coating is applied, the thickness of the coating and the phase composition of the surface layers or the maximum aluminum content in the coating. Therefore, when choosing a protective coating for these operating conditions, it is important to know the impact of these factors on the thermal stability of the coating. The paper presents a comparative study of various coatings on their resistance to crack formation under cyclic temperature change. The dependence of the heat resistance of the considered coatings on the method of their application and phase-structural state is established. Especially valuable is the established mechanism of formation and propagation of thermal fatigue cracks depending on the phase composition of the initial coating. It is shown that the durability of protective coatings with cyclic temperature change depends on the chemical composition of the coating and the method of its formation. The dependence of the formation of thermal fatigue cracks on the samples with the coatings under study on the number of cycles of temperature change is established.

Wireless networks based on the principle and technology of Wireless Avionics Intra-Communications (WAIC), that is, wireless avionics or wireless onboard intercom are becoming increasingly widespread on modern aircraft. The development and deployment of WAIC on board is a complex task, as its solution is directly related to ensuring safety of flights. It requires preliminary careful scientific analysis. The article analyzes the on-board wireless sensor network as an alternative to a traditional wired network using the example of a short-haul aircraft. A rough estimate of the length of the electrical harness connecting the sensors of the aircraft systems with the electronic units is carried out in order to determine the possible gain in the length of the wires when switching to a wireless sensor network (WSN). To solve this problem, the aircraft sensors of each aircraft system are placed on a large-scale grid; for each sensor, analyze the feeder circuits by the composition of the plug connectors, the number of occupied contacts and the length of wires for each contact to the corresponding electronic unit. It is shown that the heterogeneous sensor system of the aircraft with wireless sensors can reduce the number of wires by about 1200, the length of the wires of the feeder network by about 15 km. The most promising aircraft systems in terms of switching to wireless sensors are: fuel system (about 3400m), fire equipment system (about 1300m) and hydraulic system (about 1300m). Further scientific research is required to make an informed decision about the technical feasibility and advisability of using a wireless sensor network for each specific aircraft system.

The civil aviation is a systemically important sector of the European economy. In 2015, a new development strategy defining the role of air transport in passenger communications was adopted. The implementation of the strategy provides for, among other things, tickets cost reduction, which will have its impact on the population mobility. In this context, the article considers the priorities of the development strategy, noting that the demand for passenger air travel depends on multiple factors. They can be aggregated into four groups: social stability, macroeconomic, intrasectoral, and inter-transport factors. Their influence on the demand value varies by its degree, while being both price-based and non-price-based in nature. The article defines the leaders of the passenger air transportation market, addresses the problems obstructing the air transportation network development. It also highlights the European passenger air transportation market specifics and the prospects for development of a unified transport system to ensure a positive socio-economic effect in the development of the economy. A high level of competition with a comparable level of service quality calls for new forms of relationship with consumers. With a convenient passenger transportation infrastructure built nowadays in Europe, there are companies operating on the market that offer fairly expensive as well as low-cost transportation service. In addition, the level of average per capita income in Europe is quite high. All combined, these factors predetermine increased demand for transportation by air. Given these conditions, adoption of innovations and digital technologies, together with the encouragement of investments, should present a stimulus for growth. The adoption of the said measures will lead to passenger service quality improvement, traffic turnover and airlines’ revenues increase, and more job opportunities. Reliability, safety, environment are regarded as strategic priorities.

The process of aircraft operation involves constant effects of various factors on its components leading to accidental or systematic changes in their technical condition. Markov processes are a particular case of stochastic processes, which take place during aeronautical equipment operation. The relationship of the reliability characteristics with the cost recovery of the objects allows us to apply the analytic apparatus of Markov processes for the analysis and optimization of maintainability factors. The article describes two methods of the analysis and control of object maintainability based on stationary and non-stationary Markov chains. The model of a stationary Markov chain is used for the equipment with constant in time intensity of the events. For the objects with time-varying events intensity, a non-stationary Markov chain is used. In order to reduce the number of the mathematical operations for the analysis of aeronautical engineering maintainability by using non-stationary Markov processes an algorithm for their optimization is presented. The suggested methods of the analysis by means of Markov chains allow to execute comparative assessments of expected maintenance and repair costs for one or several one-type objects taking into account their original conditions and operation time. The process of maintainability control using Markov chains includes search of the optimal strategy of maintenance and repair considering each state of an object under which maintenance costs will be minimal. The given approbation of the analysis methods and maintainability control using Markov processes for an object under control allowed to build a predictive-controlled model in which the expected costs for its maintenance and repair are calculated as well as the required number of spare parts for each specified operating time interval. The possibility of using the mathematical apparatus of Markov processes for a large number of objects with different reliability factors distribution is shown. The software implementation of the described methods as well as the usage of tabular adapted software will contribute to reducing the complexity of the calculations and improving data visualization.

The article describes a number of stages in the creation of parachute systems for military and special purposes and some features of executing their testing. The necessity of development flight tests and their peak modes are analyzed in details. The feasibility of recovery parachute system creation for saving the weight model during the flight tests connected with checking of parachute systems strength is proved. The procedure of putting the recovery parachute system into the action scheme of the tested parachute system is suggested. The sequence and the stages of three-cascade recovery parachute system operation consisting of the auxiliary parachute, the drogue parachute and the main one are given. The analysis of this system operation considering the phase trajectories of the recovery parachute system and the tested parachute system movement is conducted. Development of possible emergency situations of the tested parachute system including the phase trajectories of motion at all stages is considered. The phase trajectories of motion are given taking into account test envelope with overlapping of the maximum operation conditions and acceleration modes. Development of emergencies is analyzed considering time buffer to put the recovery parachute system into operation. The article considers the example of creating the emergency detection system and its operating procedure when putting the recovery parachute system into action. Positive results from introduction of the recovery parachute system into the flight tests when creating parachute systems for different purposes are predicted. A new strategy of executing flight tests with the introduction of an updated (by the decision of the Chief Designer) test program is proposed. Extension of the test envelope will enable to significantly advance information awareness of the flight experiment, efficiency and quality of its results. Introduction of the emergency detection system will considerably improve reliability of the tested parachute system operation.

The problem of controlling a typical nonlinear servo motor of an unmanned aercraft with non-stationary parameters using a robust PID controller is considered. The procedure for calculating the parameters of a robust PID controller based on the localization method (further - LM PID controller) for continuous and discrete control systems is studied. The influence of disturbing factors (internal and external) acting on the servo motor is considered. It is established that the main perturbations acting on the servo drive include internal perturbations, which are changes in the time constant and its gain from the temperature of the environment and the quality of the supply voltage. The simulation in the class of linear and nonlinear continuous systems showed that a servo drive with a ML PID controller has the property of robustness in the working range of changes in both the input signal and the parameters of the servo drive and controller. Simulation results showing the research are presented. When describing a servo motor with an LM PID controller in the class of linear discrete systems, its robustness is limited by a narrow range of variation of both its parameters and the quantization period of the input signal. As the degree of uncertainty in the parameters of the servo motor increases (approaching the working range of their change), the discrete system loses stability. For the synthesis of robust control circuits of an unmanned aercraft with given characteristics, mathematical dependences of the settling time and static error of a typical servo motor with LM PID controller from the quantization period of the input signal and the degree of uncertainty in its parameters are presented.