Data acquisition
FLIGHT TEST
INSTRUMENTATION
SYSTEM DESIGN AND INTEGRATION
Modern aircraft flight test instrumentation system design revolves around defining
the most efficient method to collect aircraft data for both on-board recording and
real-time telemetry transmission
// SRIDHAR KANAMALURU
Depending on the type of vehicle being
tested and the nature of the test, the
number of measurements captured
during a flight test may exceed thousands.
Likewise, depending on the avionics bus
types, the aggregate bus data rate may
exceed multiples of 10Gbps. The challenge
for today’s FTI system designer is to
identify the sub-systems and components
that enable the collection, aggregation and
recording of this vast amount of
measurement data while also identifying
and selecting, in real-time, the safety or
mission critical data for the TM downlink.
The new generation of FTI systems uses
an Ethernet networked system that
includes data acquisition units (DAU),
cameras, switches, recorders, gateways,
and RF equipment for the collection,
collation, recording and transmission of
TM data. The network FTI system
designer’s focus is on the entire life-cycle of
the test data, from the origin at the
airborne sensors, through the DAUs and
then to the network for recording and
transmission to the ground. Once the data
reaches the ground, it must be efficiently
visualized for analysis and data mining.
One of the big challenges for the
network FTI system designer is how to
integrate a complete solution that enables
common network programming and setup
of the FTI parameters and output types
and supports the selection of mission and
safety critical parameters. The various
airborne and ground hardware needed to
integrate a complete FTI system are often
sourced from multiple suppliers.
Unfortunately, this adds complexity as the
different components cannot be easily
configured by a single setup application.
Organizations that design and
manufacture solutions can speed, ease and
lower the cost of integrating a complete
FTI system by providing a common
seamless software platform for setting up
154 SHOWCASE 2020 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
1 // The nREC-7000
accepts data for recording
on two 10GBASE-SR ports
and two 1000BASE-T ports
that can store data at
sustained speeds of up to
1,000MBps per 10GbE port
1
the entire system. This normally requires
the organization to possess a vast family of
networked FTI products, including DAUs,
high-speed and high-definition cameras,
network switches, cockpit control panels,
gateways, RF transmitters, receivers,
transponders and recorders.
There are common network protocols
and standards, such as IRIG 106 Chapter 4,
8, 10/11, DARv3, and Integrated Network
Enhanced Telemetry’s (iNET) TmNS, that
can be supported by hardware, allowing for
integration. Switches and gateways provide
options for the data to transcend protocol
boundaries, e.g., from Network-to-PCM, so
that the FTI system designer and integrator
can focus on the data rather than the FTI
system. Switches and gateways can also
provide the capability to setup the FTI
system, including defining the selected
parameters and data for the real-time TM
downlink. Ground station solutions need
to be considered and hardware, such as
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