global briefing
New flying testbed
delivered to DLR
The German Aerospace Research Centre’s (DLR)
latest flying testbed has arrived at its Flight
Experiments facility in Braunschweig, Germany
where engineers have begun fitting out its flight
test instrumentation.
The ISTAR (inflight systems and technology
airborne research) is a modified Falcon 2000LX jet
which will be used to evaluate the use of automation
technologies in flight operations, such as pilot
assistance systems and unmanned flight. Plans for
the ISTAR were first revealed in 2018.
DLR has the largest civil research aircraft fleet in
Europe with a total of 11 aircraft and helicopters.
The aircraft flew from the Dassault plant in
Bordeaux-Mérignac, France where it was fitted with
sensors, mounting points and cable paths, to its new
home at the end of February.
DLR engineers at Braunschweig are now fitting
more instrumentation and commissioning the
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research aircraft, including conducting initial flights,
ahead of its first use in a series of tests this summer.
The ISTAR will not be completely finished until
2025, after more modifications are made during two
further conversion phases.
“ISTAR is opening a new chapter in aeronautics
research at DLR,” said Rolf Henke, DLR executive
board member for aeronautics research. “Our latest
research aircraft will develop into a versatile
testbed for optimized aerodynamics, flight guidance
and flight control.
“ISTAR also enables a major leap forward in the
digitalization of air transport. We are creating a digital
twin for ISTAR, which will accompany it throughout
its entire lifecycle.”
By summer 2020, DLR plans to have integrated
basic flight test instrumentation (FTI) into the ISTAR’s
cabin to record flight data and store additional
signals from the experimental sensors and antennas.
The FTI will include a workstation with two
positions for flight test engineers. These will be used
for monitoring and processing data and for
controlling tests and experiments.
// DLR’s latest flying
testbed will be
equipped to study the
increased use of
automation
technologies in
aircraft, such as pilot
assistance systems
ISTAR will initially carry out aerodynamics,
aeroelasticity, structures and propulsion systems
research. The aircraft will first be studied in DLR’s
HighFly (high-speed inflight validation) research
project, which will record its flight characteristics and
performance, from how it vibrates and measurement
of its exhaust gases to its flight capabilities.
In 2023 ISTAR will be fitted with an experimental
fly-by-wire system and an experimental autopilot to
enable the testing of increasingly automated pilot
assistance systems, including automated taxiing and
take-off. The system will also be used to test the
integration of unmanned aerial vehicles into
controlled airspace.
In the mid-2020s, ISTAR will become fully
functional as a flying simulator, with the addition of
ailerons, a direct lift control system and experimental
access to the nose landing gear, as well as
unrestricted experimental access to the flight control
system. These will enable it to test the flight
characteristics of new aircraft designs – whether
real or virtual, crewed or uncrewed – under real
operating conditions. \\
14 MARCH \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM 9
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