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REVIEW QUESTIONS - 14030_185
COMPUTER APPLICATIONS

Aviation Electronics Technician 1 (Organizational)
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CHAPTER 8 COMPUTERS As late as the middle 1970’s, the phrase “kick the tires and light the fires” was the main theme in launching an aircraft sortie. This meant that as long as there was an airframe with nothing falling off, an engine that would start and achieve takeoff speed, and air in the tires, the aircraft would be launched. This was done so the pilots would get their flight time every month. Now the mission has become the prime objective of the aircraft. This is not meant to belittle the importance of the engine and airframe. Obviously, they are important, but the aircraft and pilots are designated to perform certain missions. The performance of these missions is dependent upon the status of the various avionics packages. If one or more of these packages are degraded or not working at all, the aircraft is considered to be partial mission capable or not mission capable. This lack of mission capability has thrust many an avionics work center supervisor into the spotlight. If you are one of the supervisors who has been there, then you know how pleasant the maintenance chief is to you. It is then that you realize that aircraft maintenance is not a game. As we head toward the 21st century, newer and more sophisticated aircraft are being designed and built. The avionics systems are becoming more complex, thus allowing the aircraft to perform more difficult missions. The increased complexity forces the solutions to problems in microseconds. The only system capable of performing these solutions is the computer. In turn, each associated avionics system will act as a sensor that feeds continuously updated information to the computer. The computer processes the data and sends out information to where it is needed. Because computers are used so extensively in Navy aircraft, the avionics supervisor must have a basic understanding and working knowledge of computers. COMPUTER MAKEUP Learning Objective: Identify computer hardware and software. The electronic components of a computer are commonly called hardware. Examples of computer hardware are cathode-ray tubes, transistors, microchips, printed circuit cards, etc. Software, on the other hand, is a term that is applied to a set of computer programs, procedures, and possibly associated documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system. Software includes compilers, assemblers, executional routines, and input/output libraries. The advances in computer software provide the industry with the greatest realm of application possibilities. The problem of attempting to communicate with a computer has led to the development of symbolic languages that approach human language.    The fact that a person can tell a computer what to do, just as one directs the actions of another person, has been made possible by the advances in software. Software is also used to overcome design deficiencies in computers. Programming around design deficiencies is a common practice in the computer industry. Software is, in fact, often used to determine design feasibility. The practice of designing a computer with a computer is a common practice of design engineers. Perhaps the best software application has been in the area of real-time processing. Real-time processing is a situation where the data is submitted to a computer, and an immediate response is obtained. The capability of a computer to perform real-time processing could determine the success or failure of an aircraft’s mission. Programming in a universal language has led to the development and refinement of a number of computer languages. Many of these languages are for a special area or purpose. For example, FORTRAN (FORmula Translator) for business and scientific programs, COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language) for business, and Jovial for large scale, computer-based, command and control systems. PL/1 (Programming Language/one) is a language for real-time systems.    Each of the languages fulfills a specific need for a specific problem, but lacks the universal ideal application. 8-1







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