Landing Systems: Brake Control
Brand Expertise: Hydro-Aire
Landing Systems: Brake Control
Brand Expertise: Hydro-Aire
Applications
Commercial Aircraft
Crane Aerospace & Electronics develops and manufactures high efficiency, adaptable brake control systems for many commercial aircraft. Hydro-Aire and Boeing pioneered brake control in 1946 and installed the first system on a Boeing/USAF B-47 in 1947. The B-47 was the world's first high speed, swept wing, jet bomber and led the way for the introduction of modern transport aircraft.
Antiskid
Crane Aerospace & Electronics has continued to define and refine the science of antiskid brake control since 1947. The systems have evolved from the early tire-savers to the modern, fully adaptive, digital Mark IV system, which is standard equipment on all current production Boeing aircraft. To learn more about antiskid, view the Antiskid Tutorial.
Autobrake
Crane Aerospace & Electronics develops and manufactures Autobrake Systems (automatic braking systems) that produce safe, automatic brake pressure application without pilot action. Autobrake systems are standard on all current production Boeing aircraft. Pilot selectable levels of deceleration provide smoother, more efficient braking in landing mode operations, and full brake pressure application provides maximum braking in the event of a rejected take-off (RTO). To learn more about autobrake, view the downloadable Autobrake Tutorial.
Regional Aircraft
Crane Aerospace & Electronics developed the first antiskid system for a regional aircraft by modifying an existing commercial system for installation on a Nissan YS-11. Crane Aerospace & Electronics now supplies a majority of the antiskid and brake control systems for all of the major regional aircraft manufacturers.
Regional aircraft cover a significant range of applications from 19 passenger turbo-prop aircraft with relatively short range, through the 70 passenger longer range turbo-prop categories, as well as up to the 100+ passenger regional jet aircraft and extended range missions. Regional aircraft antiskid and brake control systems similarly cover a wide range of landing velocities, landing weights, landing gears, brakes and performance requirements.
Crane Aerospace & Electronics has developed Mark III (analog), Mark IV (digital) and Mark V (Brake-by-Wire) antiskid and brake control systems for regional aircraft with paired and individual wheel control to suit particular aircraft performance requirements.
Business Aircraft
Crane Aerospace & Electronics developed the first business jet antiskid system for a Lear model 2A by modifying an existing commercial aircraft system. Crane Aerospace & Electronics subsequently developed antiskid and brake control systems tailored specifically for business jet aircraft. Crane Aerospace & Electronics now supplies a majority of the antiskid and brake control systems for all of the major business jet manufacturers.
Business jets cover a significant range of applications from the Entry Level jets carrying a few passengers with relatively short missions to the Light, Light Medium, Medium, Heavy Medium, Heavy, and BizLiner categories with up to a dozen passengers (or more) and very extended range missions. Business jet antiskid and brake control systems similarly cover a wide range of landing velocities, landing weights, landing gears, brakes and performance requirements.
Crane Aerospace & Electronics has developed paired and individual wheel control Mark III (analog), Mark IV (digital) and Mark V (Brake-by-Wire) antiskid and brake control systems for all classes of business jet aircraft.
Military/UAS Aircraft
Military Aircraft, with their unique environmental and operational requirements, have always been a significant element of Hydro-Aire's antiskid business. The first Hydro-Aire Mark I antiskid was developed for the military Boeing B-47 bomber in 1947. Military aircraft received the benefit of the significant performance improvement available from the Hydro-Aire Mark III slip velocity control with systems installed on the F-4, F-15, F/A-18, C-9B, C/KC-135, and the B-1A /B. Developmental Mark III systems were also developed for the F-5 and CF-5 aircraft.
The C-17 was the first Military aircraft to use the Hydro-Aire digital Mark IV antiskid technology with an integrated Brake Temperature Monitoring System (BTMS).
Hydro-Aire Mark V systems have been developed and installed on the X-35, the Lockheed JSF demonstrator, the X-33 reusable space vehicle demonstrator, the X-34 experimental vehicle, and the Tier II UAV.