VHF Antenna Integrated into a Classical Fibre Metal Laminate Fuselage Panel

Replacement of protruding antennas by integrated alternatives will reduce the energy consumption and NOx and CO2 emissions of an aircraft. This paper proposes and integrated VHF cavity backed slot antenna that is suitable to replace blade antennas. To reduce the size of the cavity a parallel plate resonator is used. The slot is integrated into a fibre metal laminate fuselage panel. A bookleafing principle is used to reinforce the panel at the position of the slot, making sure the material quality is not reduced. Measurement results of a demonstrator antenna show the feasibility of the proposed antenna. Moreover, the paper discusses several electromagnetic and structural design trade-offs for this integrated antenna

GNSS Antenna Integrated into a Classical Fibre Metal Laminate Fuselage Panel

Fibre Metal Laminate materials, like Glass Laminate Aluminum Reinforced Epoxy (GLARE), provide a unique opportunity to integrate patch antennas directly into the fuselage of aircraft. This integration will contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions of aircraft due to the reduction of aerodynamic drag. This paper discusses the integration of a double patch GNSS antenna directly into a classical Fiber Metal Laminate. A demonstrator of the antenna was manufactured and measured. The antenna has a flush finish on the outside of the fuselage. The preliminary results of these measurements show promising antenna performance, but more measurements are required to fully characterize this integrated antenna