Airport Spatial Usability in Measuring the Spherical Antenna Properties on Small Aircraft

Area of Science:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Electromagnetics
• Radio Frequency Engineering

Background:

• Strict air transport safety regulations necessitate innovative verification methods for nonstandard onboard electronic systems.
• Accurate assessment of antenna radiation characteristics is vital for reliable communication links, especially for emergency systems.
• Traditional measurement facilities like anechoic chambers are often unsuitable for unique aircraft installations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an innovative method for measuring the spherical radiation characteristics of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) antenna.
• To assess the communication link of an ELT with the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system under nonstandard installation conditions.
• To provide a practical measurement procedure for aircraft antennas when professional chambers are unavailable.

Main Methods:

• Experimental verification of antenna radiation patterns on a two-seater aircraft with an internally mounted ELT antenna.
• Open-space measurement methodology conducted at an airport, circumventing the need for an anechoic chamber.
• Combination of multiple polar radiation measurements to approximate the spatial (spherical) radiation characteristic.

Main Results:

• The developed open-space measurement method demonstrated plausibility and reproducibility.
• The results provide insights into the antenna's radiation performance despite its nonstandard placement.
• Partial spatial radiation characteristics were successfully reconstructed by combining polar measurements.

Conclusions:

• A simple and effective method for measuring aircraft antenna characteristics in open spaces has been presented.
• This technique is valuable for verifying emergency systems like ELTs, especially with nonstandard installations.
• The methodology is adaptable for similar measurements on other transport vehicles or objects.