Many aerospace vehicles are constantly developing even as they are fielded and used daily. Their flight test programs can span multiple years or even decades as improvements and new capabilities are added throughout their lifespan. For example, the US Air Force F-15 and F-16 flight test programs are still active despite the platforms’ first flights occurring over 50 years ago (in 1972 and 1974, respectively).
Due to these lengthy programs, there is a strong desire to maintain backward compatibility for the flight test instrumentation (FTI) hardware. Reusing well-understood and proven FTI lowers risk, reduces costs, and makes comparing new and old data easier. However, the amount of data generated onboard test vehicles continually grows, and adopting new technologies is an effective strategy for acquiring more data.
Indeed, one of the central themes of recent advances in FTI is the need for “more.” The FTI industry needs more data sources, more analog measurements, more digital bus data, networks with more bandwidth, more seamless interconnectivity between devices, more storage onboard the test vehicle, more telemetered data, and faster and more capable data analysis.
This white paper outlines basic data acquisition systems (DAS) architecture. It then uses a case study of a hardware line to examine the evolution of technologies in FTI in recent decades. It concludes with a discussion on the evolution of a DAS to ensure backward compatibility while answering the call for “more.”
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Ben Kupferschmidt
Sr. Manager, Desktop Software / Product Line Manager, Ground Solutions
Ben is based in Newtown, PA, and heads product management for the Aerospace Instrumentation software and ground station teams in Curtiss-Wright.
