A manufacturer of a large military aircraft required a mission recording system to collect engineering data from around the aircraft and store it on a recorder for post-mission analysis. The data would be used to understand how the aircraft is flying and operating during its mission in order to uncover any optimizations that could be achieved, or aid in investigations should any incidents occur during a mission.
The aircraft is produced in low numbers for customers with different requirements. As not all aircraft have identical systems, the mission recording solution needed to be easily customizable. Developing systems for any new aircraft is a learning experience, and so the aircraft manufacturer wanted to deploy the solution in time for flight tests so they could develop a better understanding of what data was most useful. They could then make adjustments to the design before the final line replaceable unit (LRU) entered production.
Another requirement was that the system should allow for a rapid turnaround post-mission and should be easy to maintain. Operators wanted to be able to grab the data from the recorder immediately, without the need for any special support infrastructure or tools. As with most aircraft, the room within the cockpit is in high demand, and the mission recorder system needed to fit within a limited space to maximize the amount of displays and controls the pilots have access to.
Download the case study to learn more.