Aircraft Fire Detection The Problem and the Solution

Due to the number of false fire warning incidents which have occurred in recent years aboard current aircraft, increasing attention is being given to this vital area concerned with improved fire detection and extinguishing systems. Most of the attempted solutions to the problem have been directed toward improving specific components of the system rather than consideration of the total system. In the majority of these cases, the attempts merely caused more unreliability. This paper describes the Lindberg fire detection system which represents a breakthrough in the state-of-the-art in that it cannot give a false alarm. This unit is capable of detecting fire and/or overheating conditions by both arithmetic averaging and “discrete” response. A proper understanding and solution of subsonic fire detection problems is of immense importance if we are to successfully meet the supersonic transport challenge.