AirNav RadarBox Manual
42
Copyright 2010 by AirNav Systems
For each flight you will see:
·
Received: time of message reception
·
Flight ID: the flight number / callsign for this flight
·
Registration: tail number of the aircraft
·
Aircraft: type of aircraft in ICAO (4 character) code
·
M: ACARS Mode
·
Lbl: message Label
·
Mode S: the mode S code for this aircraft
·
Blc, No: block ID, and message number
·
U/D: if the message is an uplink or downlink
What is ACARS?
ACARS ([A]ircraft [C]ommunication [A]ddressing and [R]eporting [S]ystem) is a digital data link
system transmitted via VHF radio which allows airline flight operations departments to communicate
with aircraft in their fleet.
This VHF digital transmission system, used by many civilian aircraft and business jets, can be likened
to "email for airplanes," as the registration of each aircraft is its unique address in the system
developed by aeronautical radio giant ARINC (Aeronautical Radio, Inc.). Message traffic is routed via
ARINC computers to the proper company, relieving some of the necessity for routine voice
communication. With ACARS, such routine items as departure reports, arrival reports, passenger
loads, fuel data, engine performance data, and much more, can be requested by the company and
retrieved from the aircraft at automatic intervals. Before the advent of ACARS, flight crews had to use
VHF voice communications to relay this data to their operations on the ground.
The ACARS system is comprised of the following elements:
1- The Airborne Subsystem, onboard the aircraft, which consists of the:
Management Unit - Receives ground-to-air messages via the VHF radio transceiver, and also controls
the replies.
Control Unit - The aircrew interface with the ACARS system, consisting of a display screen and
printer.
2- The ARINC Ground System, which consists of all the ARINC ACARS remote transmitting/receiving
stations, and the ARINC computer and switching systems.
3- The Air Carrier C2 (Command and Control) and Management Subsystem, which is all the ground
based airline operations departments such as operations control, maintenance and crew scheduling,
linked up with the ACARS system.
Messages can be categorized in two ways: "Downlinks" which are those ACARS transmissions which
originate in the aircraft, and "uplinks" are those messages sent from the ground station to the
aircraft.
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