Air data boom

Lore & Background

Air data booms are used during testing of air vehicles, ground vehicles, and water-borne vessels. They are mounted in locations that allow for relatively undisturbed air to be measured, typically on the nose, wing, or upper horizontal stabilizer. The boom may measure one, some, or all of the following: angle of attack, angle of sideslip, static pressure, total pressure, outside air temperature, and total air temperature. Specialized air data booms may also contain mission-specific sensors such as humidity sensors, ice detectors, accelerometers, and strain gages.

Reader's Guide

The air data boom is notable as a primary data source or as a calibration standard for other sensors during vehicle testing. Its ability to measure multiple parameters—angle of attack, sideslip, static and total pressure, and air temperatures—makes it essential for computing orientation, speed, and altitude/depth of air, ground, and water vehicles. The article notes that most booms are procured from niche manufacturers like SpaceAge Control and Goodrich, or are built by vehicle manufacturers, R&D facilities, and test organizations. The boom's mounting on undisturbed airflow locations (nose, wing, upper stabilizer) ensures measurement accuracy. Its legacy lies in providing reliable reference data for flight test instrumentation and pitot-static systems, as indicated by the 'See also' section linking to angle of attack, flight test, pitot-static system, and synthetic air data system.

Did You Know?

• Air data booms can be used as a 'measurement standard' to compare other sensors against.
• They are mounted on the nose, wing, or upper horizontal stabilizer for undisturbed air.
• Specialized booms may include humidity sensors, ice detectors, accelerometers, or strain gages.
• The term 'YAPS head' stands for Yaw, Angle of Attack, Pitot, Static head.