Boeing to Demonstrate Ophir Air Data System

Laser radar developer Ophir Corp.’s Optical Air Data System has been selected for demonstration on an Embraer E170 business jet as part of the Boeing ecoDemonstrator program.

The ecoDemonstrator program uses flight testing to accelerate new technologies that can reduce emissions and noise, improve airlines’ gate-to-gate efficiency and help meet other environmental goals. Ophir’s light detection and ranging sensor measures an aircraft’s true air speed, angle of attack, angle of sideslip, outside air temperature and static local air pressure in all weather conditions and altitudes.

The device increases aviation flight safety, measurement availability and reliability by providing a redundant air data measurement, and may be used to augment conventional air data systems which are subject to compromise or degraded performance in certain weather conditions. The augmentation system also increases in-flight efficiency by reducing the parasitic drag through replacement of several of the nonconformal, conventional air data probes.

Ophir Corp. develops and manufactures laser radar avionics for military and commercial customers.