Metadata for Flight Test Instrumentation Hardware

Flight Test Instrumentation
Flight Test Instrumentation
Blog
January 19, 2015

Metadata for Flight Test Instrumentation Hardware

Comparison of the qualities of a mature metadata standard

In general, flight test instrumentation (FTI) users have to setup and configure equipment from multiple vendors. Typically configuration information is described using metadata. This metadata is usually described in a file using a format and structure that can be processed by vendor equipment and/or software. In general, each vendor has its own specific metadata format. This imposes additional burdens on FTI users, distracting them from their principal task of instrumenting aircraft.

At present, no one metadata standard dominates in the flight test instrumentation community. In the United States, TMATS is widely used in military FTI applications but elsewhere and in civil applications, users of FTI equipment generally use multiple proprietary formats. At present there are multiple ongoing efforts to develop a metadata standard that is acceptable to both FTI vendors and users of FTI equipment.

There are several criteria which Curtiss-Wright believes should be met in order to meet the needs of the flight test instrumentation community, which are outlined with a comparison of some popular standards in the following table:

Popular Standards for Flight Test Instrumentation


Curtiss-Wright has standardized on XidML as its FTI metadata standard. It has done this because it has been proven to meet both its needs and the needs of its customers. It has evolved through many iterations to a point where it has been shown to be flexible enough to describe any device from any vendor and can handle new and unanticipated communication and messaging protocols.

 

Aerospace Instrumentation Brochure

Modern aerospace instrumentation systems can be highly complex, and it can be difficult to know how to meet program needs. It’s not unusual for requirements to change during a campaign and cause significant delays, and data must be captured reliably no matter what – otherwise expensive additional flights will be needed, or months of program data could be lost. Read our brochure to learn how you can reduce your risk with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions. 

Download the Brochure

Reduce risk & accelerate deployment timelines with proven data acquisition system reliability

For anything from data capture in the air to replay and analysis on the ground, partnering with the world's leading aerospace data acquisition provider simplifies your design and installation process. Our expertise reduces your risk of capturing useless data, having to repeat a flight, or compromising the integrity of a maintenance program, and suffering the schedule and financial costs. We accelerate your deployment with a faster and more flexible installation using the most extensive set of solutions on the market that can quickly meet changing requirements.

Flight Test and Monitoring Applications

Modern aerospace instrumentation systems can be highly complex, with changing requirements that can cause significant delays. Reliably capturing data is essential to avoid expensive additional flights or the loss of months of program data. Curtiss-Wright provides a comprehensive range of cutting-edge COTS and customizable systems that have been engineered to meet these challenges. When you use our systems, you automatically get an expert partner with decades of experience that can extend your system architect/design team to deliver a future-proof total system solution.