Mediums of Communication in the realm of Aviation
By: Ryan Evans 2006
Aviation connects to multiple means of communication. The aviation world uses everything from semiotics that help keep the function of airplanes and air travel safe, clear, and efficient. Communication is done through many different mediums such as light, radio, and visual. The concept of planes traveling at over a hundred miles an hour and banking, climbing, and descending new forms of semiotics had to be introduced to fulfill the new demand.
The signage of runway markers and clearance lines indicate in an abstract way the route to a runway and places to stop and get clearance before proceeding. These are used with symbols of a straight line and a dotted line. If the dotted line is closest to you clearance isn’t needed but if the solid yellow line is near you then it is mandatory to obtain clearance from the tower. Various symbolic markings on the airplane itself serve very specific purposes. The tail number always starting with an N such as N9687CP is the airplanes identifying number in which it is recognized over the radio by the tower and other airplanes. It also serves as a licensing identifier number for the plane itself. There are other iconic and symbolic labels on the exterior of the plane. For a low wing airplane the words are stenciled in to say NO STEP because at that point of the wing is not strong enough to support the weight of a person and isn’t the designated place for a person to step on. By the fuel tanks a specification of fuel is written in a circular pattern indicated with a pictorial blue drop representing gasoline and it says AV Gas 100 Low Lead only.
These instructions convey meaning. Over the pitot tube which is which takes in air to measure speed is covered with a red cloth cover to protect it when the plane is on the ground. On the bright red cloth cover is a tag saying “Remove before Flight”. The brightness of the cloth and the bold white words stand out to catch the pilot’s attention so that he doesn’t forget to remove it. If he forgets he will not be able to tell how high the plane is or how fast he is going which are both crucial information.
The plane itself has multiple means of communication in different mediums. It uses radio communication as its primary means of communication but also has capability of communicating with the ground with lights and also physical motion. When being escorted by a fighter jet when a small plane goes into the wrong airspace the planes can communicate by waving the wings or pitching up and down to indicate if they understand to land immediately. The physical body of the plane itself becomes a direct medium of communication in this instance.
The paint job and physical experience of the airplane can convey different attitudes of its use and purpose. In the year 2002 for the Civil Air Patrol which is a civilian search and rescue organization that flies as the auxiliary of the
Civil Air Patrol markings to designate our planes to stand out from civilian planes. This is an icon for a propeller and it symbolizes metaphorically with the triangle the three points of civil air patrol which are its three missions: emergency services, cadet program, and aerospace education. The placements of icons and logos on planes are placed in a way which they would most likely be seen such as the under side of the wings hold logos for from the ground that is what is going to be seen. The ‘hood’ or cowling of the airplane is not a good place to put a logo for you don’t see a plane dead on and also the spinning propeller masks that area from view.
Navigation and orientation are very important in flying. Knowing where you are and where you want to go are essential. There are multiple ways in gaining this information ranging from the low tech map to the high tech GPS navigation system that coordinates the position by obtaining a fix on three satellites. The GPS displays your plane on a screen and shows airports and terrain around you and can give you your exact location in Longitude and Latitude.
The lights on an airplane are multifunctional. The green and red lights on the wing tip are used to symbolize the direction the airplane is headed when viewed by other planes. The red stands for the left side and the green are for the right side. The pulse light blinks to make the plane stand out in the sky so that other planes can spot it easily. The purpose for this is safety for the more visible a plane is the less likely those aerial collisions will occur. Light has been used for many other forms of transportation to illuminate the path in front of them. The only time the light on airplanes functions in this way is when the plane is taxiing on the ground to the runway. The taxi lights shine to the ground so the pilot can see the taxi way and the signs. The light is not needed in the air because the pilot doesn’t need to see in front of him he flies the plane by instruments.
On the ground light is used to guide the pilot to the airport. The runway is outlined by lights. On the landing approach a set of lights called the vassi lights inform the pilot if his glide approach is too high or two low. If the four lights are all red the pilot is too low if they are all white he is too high and if they are half white and half red he is right on glide slope. These arbitrary arrangements of lights convey useful meaning that helps the pilot land the plane safely. When a planes radio goes out light is used by the control tower to communicate landing clearances to the plane. A blinking green light gun at the plane means you are cleared to land. A steady red light means you are not clear. This method is in place for in the case of an emergency a tower can assign landing clearance to a plane using light in the event of loss of radio communication.
Modifying simple objects is a way of engineering that is usually overlooked. For writing the invention of the pencil and the modification to the graphite was used to adapt to the health conscious society. The same thing happened for aviation. What was needed was a clipboard for writing notes on and to hold a map while in flight. The conventional clipboard however was too large for use in the cramped cockpit of a small plane. The pilot and copilot were both seated and the yoke (the steering wheel) was in the way for the use of a conventional clipboard. What was invented was a knee board the size of a persons knee and that had a Velcro strap that strapped around the leg to keep it in place during flight. This knee board comes in handy for a pilot to keep his map paper and pencil ready and in place to write on while airborne. Pencils are also modified to be placed or stored somewhere during flight. This is why many aviator shirts have pockets in the sleeves or on the chest to hold a pencil snugly and securely. Pilots also get special pencils that can Velcro to the top of the control panel.
(photo credit FAA)
The artificial horizon is both an index and an icon. It represents the airplane the sky and the ground but it also is physical representation because its postion has a direct tie to the airplane its representing. When the instrument is banked at 25 degrees it is indicating the actual position of the airplane which is also banked at 25 degrees.
(www.northeast-planes.com/sign2.jpg) Fig 3
The introduction of radar had a profound effect on the world of aviation. Planes positions could be determined on the ground and from the air. Weather could be monitored and analyzed with greater efficacy. “Next to photography, radar provided a superior way to gather information about enemy location. In fact, it provided too much information, more information than one person could deal with.” (Manovich p.100) It wasn’t until later when transponder codes were introduced that allowed radar operators to have each blip to be labeled with its corresponding aircraft.
Radar was introduced by MIT’s RAD LAB in 1940 during World War 2.
Within a certain range ground operators could see blips on the screen approaching but couldn’t identify what type or country the aircraft were from.
Navigation is the means of locating your position in time and space in the world. In flying it is extremely important to know where you are and where you are going at all times. There are a number of different mediums that are used to accomplish this task of finding your relative or exact position. Methods include Navigation Radios and Global Postioning System (GPS) which uses information from multiple satilites to calculate your position. The Very-High-Frequency Omnidirectional Radio Range Recevier (VOR) is one way that is used to calculate an aircrafts position. Across the country many different VOR radio stations are built to broadcast on a specified frequency. The VOR receiver picks up these signals and shows the direction to the station. The pilot gets a reading from two different stations and triangulates on a chart to find his position. “The indicator will tell him if he is right, left, or on the selected radial.” (
A newer way of finding your location is through the use of GPS. “The Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system consists of roughly 24 satellites in orbit around the Earth, several ground tracking stations and a receiver in the aircraft.”(
The heads up display goes beyond the screen where what the pilot sees is an interactive representation of the world around him he not only gets real time readings and information about location, speed, altitude, attitude, and directional heading but he also can use it to have the radar to search, identify, and lock on to targets, in which he can choose to fire is missiles on.
With the recent innovation of UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicles) allows for actual planes to be flown by a computer screen on the ground hundreds of miles away.
The Global Hawk and Predator are examples of recent UAV’s used by the military.
The idea is to get aerial photography of enemy areas without the risk of losing a human life. These pilot-less airplanes can fly by themselves and stay aloft for days at a time. A ground controller can either fly them by the use of a screen. In this case the body of the operator is detached from the actual medium for he is not in the airplane.
Montgomery, Jeff. Aerospace: The Journey of Flight. Civil Air Patrol. Maxwell Air Force Base,
