MEASUREMENT OF AMBIENT

AIR TEMPERATURE IN FLIGHT

Prepared in the Air Navigation Bureau

and published by authority o / the Secretary General

INTERNATIONAL
CIVIL AVIATION
ORGANIZATION
MONTREAL CANADA
 This P u b l i c a t i o ~i s issued in English, French and Spanish.

Published i n Montreal, Canada, by the

I n t e r n a t i o n a l C i v i l Aviation Organization.
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TCAO Circular 11-~~/9 Page 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Foreword ......................................................... 5
Summary .......................................................... 7

Measurement of Ambient
Air Temperature in Flight

1.0 Introduction ................................................. 9

2.- Relationship between Ambient Air Temperature and indicated
Air Temperature .............................. i............. 10
A.. Instrumental Errors ...................................... 10
B.- Effect of Airspeed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D . . . . . . . . . e . . . . . . . .
C.- Position Errors .......................................... 1161
D.- Instrumental Time Lag .................................... 16
E.- Effect of Atmos~hericConditions ......................... 17
3.. Design and Installation of Aircraft Thermometers ............. 18
A.. Open Scale Spirit Thermometers ...................+....... 19
B.- Open Scale Mercurial Thermometers ........................ 17
C.- Mercurial Distance Thermometers .......................... 20
D.- Bimetal Thermometers ..................................... 20
E.- Electrical Resistance Thermometers ....................... 25
4 . . List of Symbols .............................................. 26
5. List of References ........................................... 29
6.. Acknowledgements ............................. .............. 31
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
ICAO Circular ll-m/9 Page 5

FOREWORD

In recognizing t h a t the knowledge of ambient a i r temperatureP on

board a i r c r a f t is exceedingly important not only f o r meteorological pur-
poses, but a l s o i n connection with determining icing conditions, engine
performances, and corrections t o the airspeed indicator, and t o the pressure
type altimeter, ICAO requested c e r t a i n Contracting S t a t e s t o submit reports
on the r e s u l t s of t h e i r investigations concerning design of a i r c r a f t ther-
mometers, t h e i r proper exposure on a i r c r a f t , and methods of correcting the
readings i n order t o measure ambient a i r temperature i n f l i g h t .

A s a r e s u l t of t h i s request, several Contracting S t a t e s have submitted

reports on the subject. The reports received up t o the 1st of January 1949,
have subsequently been correlated and assembled by the ICAO S e c r e t a r i a t f o r
the preparation of t h i s circular.

t In t h i s docunsent the term "ambient a i r temperaturen means the tempera-

t u ~ eof the undisturbed a i r surrounding an a i r c r a f t o
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
ICAO Circular ll-~I?/9 Page 7

The ambient a i r temperature i n f l i g h t i s the temperature of the

undisturbed a i r surrounding an a i r c r a f t . It i s an important quantity
used i n weather and f l i g h t performance analysis, The measurement of
ambient a i r temperature from an a i r c r a f t i n f l i g h t i s r a t h e r complicated,
since most temperature measuring devices in the f r e e a i r stream a r e in-
fluenced by the adiabatic compression due t o the stopping or slowing down
of the a i r . In addition, there are e r r o r s due t o inherent inaccuracies
in the design and construction of thermometers, instrumental time lag,
r a d i a t i o n and conduction e f f e c t s , a i r f r i c t i o n , thermometer element
position on the a i r c r a f t , amount and form of moisture i n the atmosphere.

Hbwever, the information obtainedindicates t h a t the ambient a i r

temperature can be determined with s u f f i c i e n t accuracy f o r meteorological
a s well a s f o r f l i g h t t e s t i n g purposes, i f accurate instruments and proper
methods of exposure and correction are appliedo

From the reports received it appears t h a t no Contracting S t a t e a s

y e t has attempted t o standardize i t s equipment t o measure ambient a i r
temperature i n f l i g h t and various types of thermometers a r e used and
considered s u i t a b l e f o r the purpose, The thermometer types i n use include
s p i r i t ; mercurial, bimetal and e l e c t r i c a l thermocouples o r resistance
thermometers.

The methods of exposing thermometers t o the air stream and of con-

verting indicated a i r temperature t o ambient a i r temperature a r e based i n
most countries on the same basic principles and appear t o be applicable t o
any type of thermometer reported as being used a t present.
Page 8 ICkO Circular ll-AN/9

In t h i s circular the proper exposure of thermometers into the a i r

stream and the relationship between the indicated a i r temperature and
ambient air temperature i s outlined i n principle, and the design and in-
stallation of some particular aircraft thermometers i s briefly describedo
 MEASURENiENT OF AMBIENT AfR TEMPERATURE
IN FLIGHT

l 0- INTRODUCTION

In order t o determine the magnitude of the ambient a i r temperature

i n f l i g h t , t h a t is, the temperature of the undisturbed a i r surrounding an
a i r c r a f t , use i s made of various types of themometers mounted i n a s u i t -
able position on the a i r c ~ a f t The ~ types of thermometers which have been
reported as being used t o measure the a i r temperature in f l i g h t a r e the
following: s p i r i t and mercurial thermometers with open and remote scales,
electrical. resistance and thermocouple thermometers and thermometers with
bimetal temperature elementso S p i r i t and mercurial thermometers normally
a r e simpler ia construction and consequently appear t o be more r e l i a b l e *
Mercury thermometers have t h e i r freezing point a t approximately -35% and
cannot be used t o measure lower temperatureso Bimetal and e l e c t r i c a l
thermometers appear t o be l e s s subjected t o instrumental time lag.

Aircraft thermomete~si n most eases form p a r t of an equipment u n i t

which besides measuring temperatures i s used t o obtain other data such as
the pressure and the humidfty of the a%mosphereo

In exposing a i r c r a f t thermometers i n t o the a i r stream, care must be

taken t o ensure t h a t the thermometer elements a r e not mounted i n any
position where a i r heated by the a i r c r a f t cars a f f e c t ito In order t o pro-
t e c t thermometers from d i r e c t sunlight and other radiation e f f e c t s , special
s h i e l d s a r e provided or thermometers are mounted underneath the wing o r
fuselageo In order t o expose themometers a s f a r as possible t o the
undisturbed free a i r stream they normally are mounted a s f a r forward a s
possible towards t h e nose or leading edge of the a i r c r a f t and a r e so
supported t h a t they a r e in a position s u f f i c i e n t l y remote from the skin
of the a i r c r a f t t o be outside the boundary l a y e r o

Page 9
Page PO ICAO Circular I ~ - B N / ~

In Section 3 of t h i s circular, b r i e f descriptions of the design and

i n s t a l l a t i o n of some a c t u a l a i r c r a f t thermometers a r e given,

Irrespective of the type of thermometer and i n s p i t e of the most cam-

ful exposure of them, there e x i s t several e f f e c t s which may cause discrep-
ancies so t h a t the thermometer does not normally indicate closely enough the
actual ambient a i r temperatureo However, it has been found t h a t the tempera-
t u r e readings obtained from thermometers which a r e suitably i n s t a l l e d on
present day c i v i l transport a i r c r a f t are capable of being s a t i s f a c t o r i l y
corrected t o give a s u f f i c i e n t l y good approximation of the t r u e ambient
a i r temperatureb

In Section 2 of t h i s circular, the relationship between ambient and

indicated a i r temperature i s outlined and the method reported by Contracting
S t a t e s f o r converting indicated airspeeds t o ambient a i r temperatures i s
indicated i n principle.

2,- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AMBIE;MT A I R TEMPERATURE

m INDICATED AIR TEMPERATUBE

The influences which have been reported by Contracting S t a t e s a s hav-

ing an e s s e n t i a l e f f e c t on a i r c r a f t thermometer readings may be c l a s s i f i e d
a s follows:

a) Instrumental errors;
b) Effects of airspeed;
c) Position errors;
d) Time l a g of instruments;
e) Effects of atmospheric conditionso

A,- Instrumental Errors

The accuracy of any quantitative neasurements may be limited by the

inherent inaccuracy of the measuring equipment with which the measurements
are made, From the information obtained it appears, however, t h a t a i r c r a f t
thermometers of any desired accuracy and range of application can be manu-
factured with such precision t h a t instrumental e r r o r s a r e negligible o r can
be eliminated by applying t o the readings corrections based upon c a l i b r a t i o n
t e s t s , Such corrections, i f necessary, are normally supplied f o r each in-
dividual thermometer i n the form of correction charts*
ICAO C i r c u l a r t l - ~ u / ' ~ Page 11

Be- E f f e c t s o f Airspeed

When a i r t h a t i s moving a t high speed i s slowed down by an obstruction,

heating of t h e air around t h e obstruction occurs due t o changes i n a i r
pressure and f r i c t i o n between the air and t h e surface of t h e obstruction,
When t h e obstruction i s t h e temperature element of a thermometer, t h e heat-
ing of t h e a i r around t h e surface of the temperature element a f f e c t s t h e
temperature readings and must be compensated by applying a c o r r e c t i o n t o t h e
indicated temperature t o obtain t h e ambient a i r temperature,

For a thermometer i n clear a i r moving with t h e t r u e airspeed V, it i s

shown i n Refo I and in t h e following pa~agrtaphst h a t such a correction can
be expressed a s a function of t h e t r u e airspeed V and a f a c t o r t o be de-
termined by t e s t s f o r a p a r t i c u l a r thermometer arrangemento

Assuming s t a t i c a i r flow, no e x t e r n a l forces, n e g l i g i b l e i n t e r n a l

f r i c t i o n and a d i a b a t i c compression, t h e Bernoulli equation may be w r i t t e n
as follows:

where t h e index f i g u r e s "Inand.''2* i n d i c a t e any two p o i n t s i n t h e a i r

stream,

P = a i r pressure

p = a i r density
K = r a t i o of s p e c i f i c h e a t a t constant pressure,
'p1, t o s p e c i f i c h e a t a t constant volume, cv.

For i d e a l gases t h e following r e l a t i o n s h i p s e x i s t :

-fP = g RT and cp - cv = R
A
-
where g = g r a v i t a t i o n a l acceleration, R = gas constant, T = absolute thermo-
dynamic temperature, A= mechanical equivalent of heat.
Page 12 ICAO Circular l l - ~ ~ / 9

From equations (1) and (2) the following expressions can be derived:

From (3) it may be seen t h a t an increase i n temperature, AT, due t o

an increase i n a i r pressure, exclusively depends on the velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n
and t h a t the a i r density does not a f f e c t the temperature.

I f thermometers were constructed i n such a manner t h a t t h e i r tempera-

ture element surfaces would l i e p r a c t i c a l l y within the stagnation point
then the airspeed i n the immediate neighbourhood of the surface of the
temperature element would p r a c t i c a l l y be zero and the f r i c t i o n between the
a i r and the temperature element would be negligible. For such a "stagnation
point thermometern equation (3) may be written a s followss

According t o information obtained by ICAO such a "stagnation point

thermometern a t present i s being developed i n the Netherlands and it a l s o
appears t h a t successful use of a Itstagnation point thermometern has been
made 'by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (see Ref 8).

However, the thermometers normelly used in f l i g h t a r e not i d e a l stag-

nation point thermometers, t h a t is, the eirspeed across the surface of t h e
thermometer element i s not equal t o zero and, therefore, considerable heat-
ing i s caused by f r i c t i o n within the boundary l a y e r of the a i r moving
across the thermometer element.

In general, the boundary layer across such temperature elements i s

p a r t l y laminar and p a r t l y turbulent, I n a turbulent boundary l a y e r the
velocity d i s t r i b u t i o n i s i r r e g u l a r and a t h e o r e t i c a l approach t o determine
the heating due t o f r i c t i o n appears a t present t o be impracticable. I n the
case of a s t a t i c p o t e n t i a l a i r flow along a f l a t p l a t e with a laminar bound-
ary l a y e r a method i s available (Ref. 3) t o determine the heat increase i n
the gas i f it i s assumed t h a t no heat is exchanged between the p l a t e
IcaO Circular 11-AN19 Page 13

and the gas. In accordance with t h i s method, it appears t h a t the tempera-

t u r e increase i n the case of laminar boundary l a y e r can be expressed as
follows ,o

where p may be considered a s a constant f a c t o r which depends solely on the

type of gas. For a i r i s approximately equal t o 3.6. Thus f o r a f l a t
plate temperature element with laminar boundary l a y e r the following formula
may be obtained3

From (6) it follows t h a t the change i n temperature due t o f r i c t i o n

does not depend on the density, but does depend on the airspeed i n a sim-
i l a r way as described f o r temperature increase due t o impact pressure*

rC
With g = 9.81 m/sec; A = 427 ; c = 0.2~3 Cal
cal P kg-bT,
the following correction formulae can be written:

a ) FOP a stagnation point thermometer where the f r i c t i o n

can be neglected8

b) For a f l a t plate thermometer where impact pressure

equals zero and the boundary layer remains laminarr

c) For a f l a t p l a t e thermometer where impact pressure

equals zero but the boundary layer i s turbulent8

AT AT^
and a r e approximately of the same magnitude, and from laboratory
t e s i s (Fief. 4 ) it appears t h a t a l s o ATg i s of a s w l a r magnitude. Since
on nor& thermometer heating due t o impact pressure ,and f r i c t i o n i n
Page U ICAO Circular ll-~~/9
-----
laminar and turbulent boundary l a y e r s w i l l occur sirrmltaneously, the t o t a l
correction A T, f o r any thermometer may be written i n the following form:

AT = -a I? (9)
where a i s the correction f a c t o r and V is the t r u e airspeedo Test r e s u l t s
reported from the Netherlands and information obtained from the United
S t a t e s and the United Kingdom indicate t h a t a i s p r a c t i c a l l y constant
within the speed and a l t i t u d e ranges of present day transport a i r c r a f t o

The p r a c t i c a l determination of the correction factor, a i s done by,

f l i g h t t e s t s , whereby the a i r c r a f t i s flying s t e a d i l y a t a l e v e l of constant
pressure and density a t various airspeeds, I f the temperature readings
corrected f o r instrumental and position e r r o r s are then plotted against the
square of the t r u e airspeed the slope of the graph w i l l give the value of a
The t r u e airspeed i s normally found from the indicated airspeed by convert-
.
ing the l a t t e r i n t o calibrated airspeed and the calibrated airspeed i n t o
t r u e af rspeedo

In converting the indicated airspeed i n t o t r u e airspeed standard

density i s sometimes used, However, a more accurate value of the t r u e
airspeed i s obtained i f the standard density i s corrected by taking i n t o
account the ambient a i r temperatureo

The correction formulae f o r airspeed e f f e c t s may d i f f e r in its

p r a c t i c a l form, examples are given below:

United S t a t e s ) A =, [AT i n OC, V i n miles/hour]

United Kingdom )
Netherlands

where q i s the calibrated bnamie pressure

P Cmiles per hour]

The accuracy with which the correction f a c t o r can be determined

appears t o depend l a r g e l y on the following factors2

a ) The accuracy with which temperature variations can be de-

termined on the indicator;
ICAO Circular 11-BN/q Page 15

b) The atmospheric variations of the ambient temperature when

flying a t a constant pressure altitude;

c) !The difference i n temperature on the indicator a t various

speeds a t a constant altitude;

1) The accuracy with which the t r u e airspeed can be determined.

In order t o determine a: values, i n the Netherlands (Ref. 2) a s t r a i n

gauge indicator was used i n connection with an e l e c t r i c a l resistance type
thermometer element. With t h i s s t r a i n gauge indicator it was poseible t o
read temperature variations with extreme accuracy on a d i a l where 20 nark-
ings corresponded t o a temperature increase of 0 . 0 1 ~ ~ . A t constant speed
the average indication could be e a s i l y determined within 100 d i a l markings,
t h a t is, within 0 . 0 5 ~ ~ .

During t e s t s (Ref* Z), it was found t h a t the ambient a i r temperature

a t constant a l t i t u d e varied i n a few extremely unfavourable cases up t o
~ . O ~ C . However, from observations during the f l i g h t when the readings of
the s t r a i n gauge indicator were read while maintaining constant airspeed
during approximately 30 seconds, the temperature did not vary more than
O . ~ ~ C . In most cases the variation was very much smaller and could often
even be neglected.

In a United S t a t e s report (Ref. 6), it i s s t a t e d t h a t isothermal con-

d i t i o n s a r e not as d i f f i c u l t t o find a s might be expected and t h a t they a o s t
frequently occur within a high pressure system above a subsidence inversion
and may be encountered ahead of a cold front about 150 metres beneath the
strato-cumulus cloud deck. Variations i n ambient temperatures, a t constant
pressure a l t i t u d e , within the area of approximately 100 square miles re-
quired f o r a t e s t , are considered satisfactory f o r the purpose of deter-
mining a i f they do not exceed 0.2°C.

The differences of temperature readings made a t minimum and a t maximum

speed amount normally from 2 t o 40Co An e r r o r of 0.2OC t o O . ~ ~ iCn the
reading of these temperature differences can cause an e r r o r of loO/o i n a
It i s therefore important t o use thermometer scales which permit readings
of temperature i n a t l e a s t one o r two tenths of loco
Page 16 ICAO Cfr c u l a r 11-bW/q

C,- Position Errors

In the speed correction formulae (9) described i n the preceding

paragraphs, the t r u e airspeed, V, i s included. The t r u e airspeed i s the
speed of the a i r c r a f t on which the thermometer i s i n s t a l l e d r e l a t i v e t o the
undisturbed a i r . I f t h i s t r u e airspeed i s used i n the speed correction
formula care must be taken i n exposing the thermometer properly i n t o the
d i r e c t i o n of the a i r stream a t a point of the a i r c r a f t where the velocity of
the a i r stream is p r a c t i c a l l y equal t o the t r u e airspeed of the a i r c r a f t .
Such points i n most cases may be found underneath the wing o r fuselage as
f a r forward as possible towards the nose or leading edge of the a i r c r a f t
where no abrupt changes of curvature i n the a i r c r a f t s t r u c t u r e exist. It i s
normally considered appropriate t o support the thermometer element so t h a t
it w i l l be c l e a r from the a i r c r a f t skin by not l e s s than 10 cm (4 inches).
I f adequate care i s taken i n exposing t h e thermometer element, small remain-
ing position e r r o r s can be eliminated by variations of the speed correction

.
f a c t o r a which then may depend s l i g h t l y on the position of the thermometer
on the a i r c r a f t (Ref. 1 )

Do- Instrumental Time Lag

In measuring temperature accurately, the time l a g of the indicated in-

strument must be considered. When a thermometer i s placed i n an a i r stream,
a period of time i s required during which the thermometer gains or loses
the heat energy necessary t o bring it i n t o temperature equilibrium with the
a i r flowing past it. If the temperature of the a i r stream i s changing, t h e
indicated tenperature of the thermometer w i l l l a g behind the a i r temperature,
the amount of l a g depending on the r a t e of change of the a i r stream tempera-
t u r e and the characteristic8 of the thermometere The thermometer a c t u a l l y
indicates the average temperature of the thermometer element, Ti, and if
t h i s temperature i s d i f f e r e n t from t h a t of the a i r surrounding the element,
(T,), a correction must be applied t o the indicated temperature. In a first
approximation, i t may be assumed t h a t the r a t e of change of the indicated
temperature i s proportional t o the temperature difference which e x i s t s -
momentarily between T i and Ta.
ICAO C ir c u l a r 11-AN19 Page 1 7

The value of f c e r t a i n l y w i l l depend on the airspeed p a r t i c u l a r l y

a t the lower speed rangeo

The correction facfor l/f may be determined by f l i g h t t e s t s o To

t h i s end the temperature d i s t r i b u t i o n in the atmosphere has t o be determined
by horizontal f l i g h t s a t various speeds and a l t i t u d e s , i n order t o eliminate
from these t e s t s the time l a g e f f e c t s o An atmosphere must be selected i n
which the horizontal f l i g h t s can, a s closely a s possible, be carried out i n
an isothermal l a y e r o After determining the temperature i n function of the
a l t i t u d e the procedure may be t o f l y on a magnetic heading and on i t s recip-
rocal, holding air speed constant, and ascending and descending a t a uni-
form r a t e , From the r e l a t i o n s h i p between time, a l t i t u d e and indicated
temperature it w i l l then be possible, with the knowledge of the temperature
d i s t r i b u t i o n a s a function of a l t i t u d e , t o determine the correction
f a c t o r Jo
f
I n order t o avoid the complication of correcting the temperature read-
ing f o r instrumental lag, temperature readings may be made a f t e r f l y i n g in
l e v e l f l i g h t f o r a s u f f i c i e n t time t o permit the thermometer indication t o
stabili~e,

The smaller the time l a g of a thermometer the more accurate, of course,

w i l l be the r e s u l t s o For c e r t a i n e l e c t r i c a l resistance thermometers it
appears t h a t p r a c t i c a l l y no time l a g has t o be taken i n t o account whereas,
p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r mercury and s p i r i t thermometers, l e v e l f l i g h t s f o r two o r
more minutes may be required before taking a readingo For instruments with
a high time l a g i t might be necessary t o f l y i n c i r c l e s a t constant l e v e l
i n order t o remain i n a s u f f i c i e n t l y isothermal area during the measurement.

E.- Effects of Atmospheric Conditions (Ref, 5 )

In unsaturated a i r the described method of conuerkbg indicated a i r

temperature t o true ambient eir temperature appears t o give very accnrate
r e s u l t s . Howevsr, when fly* in cloud and r a i n the determination of the
t r u e ambient temperature i s fraught with d i f f i c u l t i e s ,

According t o the form of the airflow p e s t the thermometer and accord-

ing t o the amount o f rain or liquid cloud elements i n the cloud the ther-
mometer element i n such cases w i l l be p a r t l y o r wholly wet, The amount of
Page 18 ICAO Circular ll-AH/9

wetness i s indeterminate i n the vast m j o r i t y of cases, Consequently al-

though it i s known t h a t the correction of the thermometer reading should l i e
somewhere between the correction f o r dry bulb and t h a t f o r wet bulb it i s
indeterminate

In practice i n B r i t i s h meteorological f l i g h t s the procedure i s t o

correct the thermometer reading i n cloud ( f o r thermometers with straight-
through airflow) a s i f the bulb were wet; t h a t is, the correction applied is
r times the dry bulb speed correction factor a , where r is the r a t i o of the
saturated-adiabatic t o dry-adiabatic lapse r a t e o

There are further complicating factors brought about by the existence

of moisture i n the atmosphereo

Rain droplets f a l l i n g thrdugh the atmosphere assume only slowly the

temperature of t h e i r environment, which might be d i f f e r e n t from the ambient
temperature a t the l e v e l where the r a i n drops originated, These droplets
upon contact with the exposed temperature element w i l l cause the instrument
t o indicate the r a i n d r o p l e t temperature r a t h e r than the ambient a i r
temperature, Furthermore while the airflow i s heated due t o t h e adiabatic
compression a t the measuring element the water drops do not undergo the same
adiabatic warmingo When the a i r c r a f t moves through a mixture of air and
l i q u i d water, the measuring element i s exposed t o contact with the adiabatic-
a l l y warmed air and the unwarmed water i n very rapid successiono Thus, the
average temperature, given by the measuring element, w i l l be lowered too
much i f the heating correction described f o r dry a i r is applied i n such
circumstanceso

It appears t h a t i n s u f f i c i e n t knowledge i s available a t the present

time t o compensate these l a t t e r e f f e c t s o

30- DESIGN AND INSTALLATION

OF AIRCRAFT THERMOMETERS

For meteorological purposes and apparently a l s o f o r f l i g h t t e s t i n g

use is made of s p i r i t , mercurial, bimetal, e l e c t r i c a l thermocouple and
e l e c t r i c a l resistance thermometers, In the following t e x t b r i e f descrip-
t i o n s of some thermometer types used i n various Contracting S t a t e s are giveno
ICAO Circular 11-BN/q ?age 19

Ao- Open Scale S p i r i t Thermometer

The United Kingdom submitted the description of a s p i r i t thermometer

used in the psychrometer, type MoOo MIE VI, by the B r i t i s h Meteorological
Office, (See Fig, 1), The psychrometer as a whole consists of dry and
wet-bulb thermometers of the alcohol i n g l a s s type, w i t h bulbs of f l a t oval
section, The thermometers are mounted i n brass tubes wttich a r e dcrewed i n t o
sockets soldered on t o the top p l a t e of the bulb housingo A s an anti-
vibration measure the thermometers are spring mounted and they a r e held i n
position against the springs by means of caps which screw i n t o the top of
each tube,

The psychrometer i s designed for making observations f o r a i r tempera-

t u r e and humidity from multi-engined a i r c r a f t on which it can be mounted
outside the observers window a few inches c l e a r of the skin of the a i r c r a f t ,
The temperature i s measured by the dry bulb thermometer of the psychrometer.
-
This thermometer shows temperatures within a range from 60 t o + 80'~ and
i s p r a c t i c a l l y f r e e from instrumental errors, Detailed information on t h i s
instrument can be found i n the wMeteorological A i r Observer Handbook* pub-
l i s h e d by HeMo Stationery Office, London,

Be- Open Scale Mercurial Thermometers

Information from the United S t a t e s indicates t h a t mercurial ther-

mometers a r e used i n the Psychrometer Equipment & 3 1 3 / ~ (see Figo 2 ) .
This instrument was designed f o r use as standard humidity measuring e q u i p
ment with which aerographs can be f l i g h t calibrated, However, t h i s instru-
ment i s equally s u i t a b l e f o r use when measurements of temperature and
humidity of high precision are requiredo

The Psychrometer M L - ~ ~ ~ / includes

AM two interchangeable psychrometer
supports, One support holds two thermometers which range from 35OC t o -
+ 15OC, the other support holds two thermometers which range from oo20c -
t o + 5o0C0 The range of temperatures being measured determines which
psychrometer support i s t o be used.

A psychrometer support holds two right-angle mercurial thermometers

located inside the a i r c r a f t cabin and i n such a position t h a t the mercury
bulbs extend i n t o the a i r stream passing through a v e n t i l a t o r and with the
Page 20 ICAO 9 i r c u l a r ...ll-AH[9

thermometer scales i n such position t h a t they can be read inside the cabin
of the aeroplane. A cylindrical shield i s provided t o be slipped on t o the
psychrometer when not in use t o protect the mercury bulbs from breakage.
The v e n t i l a t o r serves t o hold the psychrometer i n the proper working con-
d i t i o n s and t o reduce the velocity of the a i r stream s t r i k i n g the ther-
mometer bulbs from t r u e airspeed of the a i r c r a f t t o a value, a t which the
u s m l psychrometric methods are applicable, The v e n t i l a t o r consists of a
highly polished streamlined radiation shield containing a cone-shaped
passageway f o r the a i r o The a i r entering the small diameter end of the
conical passageway i s slowed down as the cross sectional area of the passage-
way increases, A t the same time, the a i r pressure increases in accordance
with the theory of Bernoulli, The v e n t i l a t o r should be located on t h e out-
side of the fuselage on the r i g h t side a s f a r forward a s possible, so t h a t
the a i r entering the v e n t i l a t o r w i l l not be affected by the propellers o r
motors and so t h a t the minimum dust w i l l e n t e r the v e n t i l a t o r during take-
o f f and ground handling, The a x i s of the v e n t i l a t o r must be p a r a l l e l with
the a i r stream, It is a l s o important f o r accurate observations t h a t the
thermometers be well lighted, preferably from the rear, and a s conveniently
accessible t o the observer i n the plane a s possible. This instrument has
a comparatively high l a g and 2 minutes f l i g h t a f t e r entering an isothermal
l a y e r might be required t o s t a b i l i z e the readings,

C,- Mercurial Distance Thermometers

The Netherlands report t h a t use is made of mercurial distance ther-

mometers of the HZ1 Tgpe (Negretti and Zambra), This mercurial thermometer
(Fig. 3) consists of a mercury bulb which i s connected t o a remote indicator
by a long f l e x i b l e c a p i l l a r y tube, The indicator i s mounted a t a s u i t a b l e
place i n the crew compartment while the temperature element i s mounted out-
side of the a i r c r a f t a t a place where the a i r stream has a speed approx-
imately equal t o the t r u e airspeed. A shield around the temperature
element protects the instrument against d i r e c t sunlight, The instrument
has a comparatively high time l a g o

D.- Bimetal Thermometer

In the United S t a t e s an Aerograph Equipment (A type AN/AMQ-~) has

been designed f o r i n s t a l l a t i o n on long range high speed a i r c r a f t and i s
used t o obtain accurate records of pressure, temperature and humidity i n
the atmosphere together with t h e airspeed of the a i r c r a f t o The d a t a thus
Circular
Circulaire ll-h.~/9

Fig. I

M.O. Aircraft Psychrometer Equipment M a r k KC.

Psychromhtre modhle M.O. Mark VI,
~sicr6metrode aeronave, modelo M.O. Mark VI.
 Fig. 2a

Psychrometer equipment M L - 3 1 3 / ~ ~ .I n s t a l l a t i o n of t h e temperature

element and i t s streamlined v e n t i l a t o r and s h i e l d on t h e s i d e of t h e
f'uselage of the a i r c r a f t .

Psychromhtre modhle ML-313/.. I n s t a l l a t i o n sur l a p w o i du f'use-

l a g e de 1'616rnent thermong t r i q u e avec son v e n t i l a t e u r e t son capotage
car6n6s.

Psichr6metro modelo M L - ~ ~ ~ / A M . Elemento termom6tric0, con su venti-

l a d o r y envoltura carenada, montado en e l costado d e l f u s e l a j e .
Circular n - ~ ~ / 9 23
Circulaire

Fin. 2b

Thermometre scale (psychrometer equipment ML-313/~~)attached to

the ventilator-shield.
Psychrombtre modhle a - 3 1 3 / ~ ~ .Ensemble.
~sicr6metromodelo ML-313/~~. Con junto.
 Fia. 3
NZI Mercurial distance thermometer.
Top: Complete thermometer. Below: Shield types.
~616thermomhtre mercure NZI .
En haut: Thermombtre complet. En bas: Capotages parasoleil.
Telemometro de mercurio NZI.
Arriba: Termometro complete. Abajo: Envolturas protectoras contra
el sol.
ICA0 Gircular 1 1 - ~ / 9 Page 25

obtained a r e evaluated, corrected and used f o r weather analysis. This aero-

graph equipment shows temperatures within the range from'- 70°c t o + 5OOC.
The aerograph may be used t o record data f o r both horizontal and v e r t i c a l
soundings. I n respect of temperature the accurecy of the aerograph e q u i p
ment allows f o r a tolerance of 2 1°C r e l a t i v e t o the standard c a l i b r a t i o n
s e t f o r which the previously described psychrometer equipment ML-313/~ might
be used.

The temperature transmitter i s actuated by a bimetal thermometer ele-

ment. This element consists of a compound s p i r a l of metal (see Fig. 4)
formed by welding together two s t r i p s of d i f f e r e n t metals, and r o l l i n g the
r e s u l t i n g compound. When it i s exposed t o temperature chsnges, the bimetal
c o i l s o r uncoils because of the d i f f e r e n t r a t e s of expansion and contraction
of the two metals. To protect the self-synchronous transmitter from corro-
sion, the bimetal is enclosed i n double walled finned tube (see Fig. 4).
The f i n s on the tube increase the surface exposed t o the atmosphere and
cause f a s t e r dissipation of the heat. The e n t i r e u n i t i s f l u i d - f i l l e d t o
a s s i s t i n the rapid t r a n s f e r of heat t o or from the bilnetal and i s closed
by a disk on which the e l e c t r i c a l t e r m i n d s a r e mounted. A small volume of
a i r i s l e f t t o provide f o r expansion of the liquid. Because t h e element i s
attached t o the r o t o r s h a f t of the self-synchronous transmitter, the move-
ment of the s p i r a l bimetal, due t o temperature variation, causes a change
i n the position of the r o t o r r e l a t i v e t o i t s s t a t o r . Thus momment i s
communicated t o the recorder chart through a remote indicating system. The
temperature element i s f ~ c t o r ys e t , a d no adjustments should be necessary
i n the f i e l d .

The temperature element together with a h a i r hygrometer elenent v i t h

t h e i r respective self-synchronous transmitting u n i t s are housed i n en
aluminum tube provided with a radiation shield projecting a t the nose end snd
a tapered t a i l piece (Figo 4).

On multi-engined a i r c r a f t the temperature humidity transmitter i s

mounted a s f a r forward a s possible of the f'uselage. In general, the locs-
t i o n of the detecting u n i t on the a i r c r o f t i s governed by similar con-
siderations as f o r thermometers already described.

E.- E l e c t r i c a l Resistsnce Thermometers

The United Kingdom and the Netherlmds report successful use of elec-
t r i c a l resistance thermometers. In the United Kingdom such thermometers a r e
Page 26 ICAO C i r c u l a r ll-m/9

used i n the psychrometer equipment M O O . U.K.1 (gee Fie. s),

This p s y c h r b '
meter consists of three parts: the balanced bridge indicator, a dry bulb,
and a wet-bulb thermometer element* The indicator comprises a Wheatstonets
bridge of which the variable arm consists of a c i r c u l a r s l i d e wire, The
balance of t h e bridge i s indicated on a small-reading galvanometer and the
position of the s l i d e r a t the balance indicates the temperature. A switch
i s provided so t h a t e i t h e r the dry-bulb element o r the wet-bulb element may
be connected t o the bridge. Each element consists of a knife shaped platinum
resistance thermometer, the wet-bulb element having a wick and container f o r
d i s t i l l e d water. The wire of each element i s wound on a f l a t mica former
which i s stiffened. The resistance wire i s covered with t h i n mica s t r i p s
and then placed i n a brass sheath. Each element i s c a r r i e d i n on alumin$um
shield which i s mounted near the leading edge on the underside of the wing
(single-engined a i r c r a f t ) o r on the underside of the nose of the fuselage
(multi-engined a i r c r a f t ) . The two housings a r e s i d e by s i d e when viewed
from i n front, and i n l i n e when viewed from one side of the a i r c r a f t .

In the Netherlands, the National Aeronautical Laboratory (NU) i n

Amsterdam developed a s i m i l a r e l e c t r i c a l thermometer f o r t e s t flying. There
the temperature indicator i s normally a cross-coil indicator. However, f o r
high precision readings it has been found s u i t a b l e t o use an e l e c t r i c a l
strain-gauge indicator which e a s i l y allows temperature readings within an
~ compared with an accuracy of 0.30C with the cross-coil
accuracy of 0 . 0 5 ~as
indicator. A detailed description of t h i s e l e c t r i c a l thermometer i s contain-
ed in NU Report No, Vo137O0

4.- LIST OF SYMBOLS

A Mechanical equivalent of heat

C Specific heat a t constant pressure

P
Cv Specific heat a t constant volume

l/f I n s t m e n t a l time l a g correction f a c t o r

g Gravitational acceleration
K Ratio of s p e c i f i c heats [cd%J

P A i r pressure
Circular n-AN,9 27
Cirrmlaire
4
d
"
YD
!.
rl
$
.-!
1 fj

!.
5 4
g
j
"
$,-;a
,&ZS

3;
87' d s ? g
" f %4 x 4 4
a\ &D
%
$
;"
33 L k f i
O a ;='g4
dz * A-
el"
!! i
I a,
I
a-
-a %
$ 1 4
I& s8 $.
3 %&
;:z
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ICAO Circular ll-A~/9 Page 29

9 Dynamic pressure
R Gas constant
Humidity correction factor
Absolute ambient temperature
Temperature correction
Air temperature outside thermometer element

Temperature of thermometer element

Time
T r u e airspeed

Equivalent airspeed s V (P/Po ) $-

a Speed correction factor

P Constant factor

? Air density

3,- LIST OF REFERENCES

NLL Revort Noo V834.

Correctie voor stuwing en wrijving op thermometeraanwijzingen
(Corrections for compression and friction of thermometer readings)
by Dro Xng, H. J. Van der *&so FJationaal Luchtvaart Lsboratorium,
Amstordam, 1938.

NLL Revort No. V1434,

Bepaling van de correctie voor stuwing en wrijving van een electrische
buitenluchtthermometer voor vliegproeveno (Determination of correc-
tions for compression and friction of an electric aircraft thermometer
used for test flying) Nationaal Luchtvaart Laboratorium, Amsterdam,
24 July 1948,
Page 30 ICAO a r c u l a r 11-AN/9

3, E. Pohlhausen.

Wiirmeaustausch zwischen festen I(iirpern und Fliissigkeiten e eat

exchange between r i g i d bodies and fluids). Z e i t s c h r i f t fib angewandte
Mathematik und Mechanik, Volume 1, 1921, pages 115 t o 121.

PhBnombnes thermiques provquda par l e dhplacement r e l a t i f dtun

solide dans un fluide. (Thermic phenomena caused by the displacement
of a s o l i d r e l a t i v e t o a fluid). Publications scientifiques e t tech-
niques du M i n i s t b e de 1' A i r , No. 63, 1935 and No. 112, 1937.

5, E. W. Barrett and Ho Riehl.

Experimental Verification of entrainment of a i r i n t o cumulus. Journal

of meteorology, Volume 5, No. 6, pages 304 t o 407, December 19.48.

60 U.S, War Department,

Psychrometer Equipment &313/AMt Technical Manual TMll-2415,

5 March 1945.

7. U.S. War Departmenq.

Aerograph Equipnent AN/A@Z. Technical Manual TMll-2408,

9 April 1945.

8, Measurement of A i r Tem~eraturei n F l i ~ h by
t W. Lavern Howland.

lockheed Aircraft Corporation; Special IBS ~ u b l i c a t i o n . Sharman M.

Fairchild Publications Fund papers,
ICAO Circular 11-AI'?/9 Page 31

It i s desired t o acknowledge the kind cooperation of the following

i n making available the i l l u s t r a t i o n s contained i n t h i s Circular:

Figure 1 - National Aeronautical Research I n s t i t u t e ,

Amsterdam.

Figures 2a and 2b - U.S. Army photographs supplied by the National

Military Establishment, The Pentagon, Washington
25, DeCa

Figure 3 - National Aeronautical Research I n s t i t u t e ,

Amsterdam0
Figure 4 - U.S. War Department, Technical Manual TM 11-2408.

Figure 5 - Meteorological Office, A i r Ministry, London,

England.