Volumetric pattern analysis of fuselage-mounted airborne antennas

A volumetric pattern analysis of fuselage-mounted airborne antennas at high frequencies was investigated. The primary goal of the investigation was to develop a numerical solution for predicting radiation patterns of airborne antennas in an accurate and efficient manner. An analytical study of airborne antenna pattern problems is presented in which the antenna is mounted on the fuselage near the top or bottom. Since this is a study of general-type commercial aircraft, the aircraft was modeled in its most basic form. The fuselage was assumed to be an infinitely long perfectly conducting elliptic cylinder in its cross-section and a composite elliptic cylinder in its elevation profile. The wing, cockpit, stabilizers (horizontal and vertical) and landing gear are modeled by "N" sided bent or flat plates which can be arbitrarily attached to the fuselage. The volumetric solution developed utilizes two elliptic cylinders, namely, the roll plane and elevation plane models to approximate the principal surface profile (longitudinal and transverse) at the antenna location. With the belt concept and the aid of appropriate coordinate system transformations the solution can be used to predict the volumetric patterns of airborne antennas in an accurate and efficient manner. Applications of this solution to various airborne antenna problems show good agreement with scale model measurements. Extensive data are presented for a microwave landing antenna system.