International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 28-31, 1996 / Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / A sophisticated human interface can be developed for Post flight analysis with the technology of UNIX-MOTIF. Tests and measurements demand performance and reliability. SAINT-EX can meet these requirements. This paper describes the results of an appraoch in the development of DASSAULT AVIATION’s SAINT-EX software.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper describes the recently developed F-22 real-time telemetry data processing system. The F-22 Combined Test Force (CTF) and the Range Division worked together to develop a real-time telemetry processing system able to support the F-22’s fast paced flight test program. This paper provides an overview of the Ridley Mission Control Center (RMCC) modernization effort for F-22. The paper also describes how the F-22 uses the Advanced Data Acquisition and Processing Systems (ADAPS) Real-Time/Post Flight Processing (RT/PFP) system, the Integrated Analysis and Display System (IADS), and other mission control room system’s for F-22 mission control support.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper describes the Real-Time/Post-Flight Processing System (RT/PFP) developed under the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) Advanced Data Acquisition and Processing Systems (ADAPS) development program. The RT/PFP is currently being deployed at all Range Division Mission Control Facilities as the principal Range Division telemetry processing system. This paper provides an overview of the RT/PFP system, its current capabilities, and future enhancements being developed. The RT/PFP is currently used to support the F-22 flight test program, and to provide telemetry processing support for the AFFTC Range Safety Office. The RT/PFP is also used in a mobile configuration to support the Advanced Fighter Technology Integration program.

ITC/USA 2011 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Seventh Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2011 / Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper describes new concepts of test mean and processes to perform flight test for all Airbus aircraft family. The FTI (Flight Test Installation) designed for A320, A340, A380 and A350 programs include acquisition system, recorder, data processing, visualisation, Flight Test Engineer Station and optional functionalities (video acquisition, DGPS, telemetry ...) In the past, these test means were specific for each test aircraft. Due to the large number of Aircraft development in parallel Airbus has designed and standardized new tests means for development and production aircraft. The first goal is to generate significant benefits regarding time and costs savings by simplifying installation and reusing all the test installations components. This paper shows the opportunities and challenges of these new concepts.

ITC/USA 2011 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Seventh Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2011 / Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada / XidML is an open, vendor neutral, XML based standard for the FTI community used to capture the metadata associated with flight test instrumentation and data acquisition networks. This paper discusses the difference between metadata and meta-metadata, how these concepts apply to XidML and an optional schema, XdefML. The paper also describes how Settings and their validation may be applied to a Generic package definition. Some examples are given of how the current version XdefML can be leveraged to auto-generate graphical user interfaces that are both feature rich and incorporate sophisticated error checking and data validation.

ITC/USA 2011 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Seventh Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2011 / Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada / Nowadays, with the development of the electronics, a video camera can produce hi-resolution and hi-speed images with a very good sensitivity. A typical application is the execution of the Air Data System (ADS) Calibration Flight Test Campaign (FTC) using the Tower-Fly-By method, where the aircraft reference altitude is computed from video frames. To improve efficiency, safety and effectiveness for this FTC, the Flight Test Research Institute (IPEV) developed a near real-time video processing application to compute the aircraft altitude from 720i video frames at up to 400 fps. This development was executed as Master Science dissertation along with Itajubá State University (UNIFEI). Tests results demonstrated satisfactory performance for this tool compared to Ground Telemetry System (GTS) and Global Positioning System (GPS).

During the period 1980 to 2008 there were 359 fatal accidents involving UK registered light aeroplanes of which 36% occurred in visual meteorological conditions. In all, 216 lives were lost with accidents being attributed to the pilot 'failing to maintain proper control resulting in a stall or spin'. Dissimilar fatal stallrelated accident rates are evident for aeroplane makes & models of similar design. During the course of this programme of research, flight testing of two similar aeroplane models using a case study method showed marked differences in the variation of stick force with airspeed or stick force gradient in all flight conditions. This suggested that 'control feel' was a contributory factor towards the pilot’s failure to maintain proper control. Current certification standards for light aeroplanes rely upon the subjective assessment of stick force gradients by test pilots, requiring that substantial changes in airspeed are accompanied by clearly perceptible changes in stick force with no specified minimum gradient. This programme of research has been carried out to determine acceptable criteria for stick force gradients of a light aeroplane in all flight conditions. Criteria has been determined from flight tests of aeroplanes with different in-service safety records and subjective pilot workload assessment using simulated flying tasks with different stick force gradients performed by twenty GA pilots. Simulation tests indicated that pilot mental demand increased significantly (p > 0.05) when stick force gradient was reduced to ‘zero’, representing an aeroplane with neutral longitudinal static stability. A predictive model has been developed to estimate stick force gradients for a light aeroplane in any flight condition under quasi-static, longitudinal, non-manoeuvring flight and 1-g loading conditions. The model builds upon previous published work limited to cruising flight, and enables the estimation of stick forces and gradients due to high lift devices in the climb and landing condition by consideration of the combined effects of wing loading, CG, elevator gearing, flaps and elevator trim setting. Implemented using MATLAB, the model has been validated by comparing with flight test results for the case study aeroplanes and showed mean differences of ±0.025 daN/kt. The predictive model should be used in preliminary aeroplane design to assess tendencies towards neutral stability in high workload, safety critical flight conditions such as the take-off and landing. In addition, the model should be used to analyse existing aeroplanes with comparatively low or neutral stick force gradients in safety critical flight phases and to predict the effects of changing CG and/or flap limits to increase stick force gradient and improve control feel. The combined results of these studies suggest that a minimum acceptable stick force gradient for a non-aerobatic light aeroplane in all flight conditions should be nonzero and between 0.10~0.13 daN/kt. A stable and predictable stick force variation with airspeed will ensure that any substantial deviation from trimmed airspeed is accompanied by a stick force change clearly perceptible to the pilot and also provide additional warning of the proximity to the stall. The use of specific criteria to complement qualitative test pilot opinion, will assist in confirming compliance and provide consistency with current standards for sailplanes/powered sailplanes and large commercial aeroplanes, both of which already have defined minimum acceptable gradients.

This thesis is, on behalf of Saab AB, a pre-study of possible on-board solutions for position measuring during store separation tests aimed for the test and evaluation of JAS 39 Gripen. The purpose is to replace the present ground-based system in order to achieve more effective trials regarding time and economy. Three different concept development methodologies were investigated in order to find the most suitable one for this thesis. Those were merged into one adapted methodology containing the following phases; \textit{Planning}, \textit{Function Analysis}, \textit{Concept Generation} and \textit{Concept Evaluation}. The work progressed as the methodology states, and the highest amount of work was dedicated to the Planning phase. The requirements and desiderata for the system were produced with an agile process, resulting in the Construction Specification List that eventually became the basis for the Concept Generation phase. Knowledge about the technical theory needed to solve the problem was obtained in parallel with the Function Analysis and Concept Generation. The most adaptable techniques to measure position were found out to be with the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) or Inertial Navigation System (INS). After an extensive work with the Concept Generation in parallel with a continuously updated Construction Specification List, three concepts were developed. One concept is based on GPS, the second one on INS and the third one is a combination of GPS and INS. All three concepts shares the same telemetry system and casing, which fulfills the requirement of simple installation and possibility to install in different stores. In the final phase, Concept Evaluation, a comparison between the concepts was performed. Advantages and disadvantages was listed and the fulfillment of requirements was investigated. All three concepts were handed over to Saab in order to let them decide which concept(s) to further develop.

Os novos materiais utilizados nas estruturas de aeronaves, mais leves e flexíveis, tornam estas estruturas mais sujeitas a fenômenos aeroelásticos, sendo que o mais sério deles é o flutter, que deve ser cuidadosamente investigado com uma boa campanha de ensaios em vôo durante o desenvolvimento e certificação da aeronave. Este trabalho propõe um projeto conceitual de um excitador de flutter que atenda às necessidades dos ensaios, tentando resolver problemas encontrados nos modelos utilizados comumente. Para isso, é feita uma revisão da literatura pertinente, apresentando conceitos de ensaios em vôo e do fenômeno em questão, além de apresentar um histórico dos ensaios e modelos de excitadores utilizados ao longo da história. Em seguida, são apresentados alguns conceitos de excitadores, que são dimensionados e analisados segundo suas vantagens e desvantagens para finalmente escolher o modelo mais pertinente visando no futuro um projeto detalhado, construção e testes em túnel de vento. / The ultimate materials used in aircraft structures, lighter and more flexibles, make these structures more susceptible to aeroelastic phenomena including flutter, the most dangerous of all. This kind of phenomena must be carefully investigated with satisfactory flight test campaigns during the aircraft development and certification. This work proposes a flutter exciter conceptual design that attends the test necessities, trying to solve problems found in the models used actually. So, a bibliographic revision is done, presenting flight test concepts and the studied phenomena, regarding a flight test history and the exciter models used through the years. Finally, some exciter concepts are presented, dimensioned and analyzed considering their advantages and disadvantages in order to choose the most pertinent model, considering, in a near future, the detailed design, manufacturing and wind tunnel tests.

Accurate measurement of turbine engine compressor inlet total temperature is paramount for controlling engine speed and pressure ratio. Various methods exist for measuring compressor inlet total temperature on turbojet engines with hydromechanical control. One method involves the use of an ejector-diffuser system (eductor) to pull air from the engine inlet in order to measure the incoming total temperature. Analysis of historical test data has revealed that the inlet temperature measurement can be biased at certain flight conditions causing engine mis-scheduling and off-nominal engine operation. This bias is characterized primarily by adverse heat transfer effects and secondly by poor flow quality in the eductor tubing. Alternate eductor system configurations have been proposed to mitigate temperature bias. A one-dimensional engineering model of the eductor system was developed to facilitate the analysis of baseline and alternate eductor configurations. The model is calibrated with results from Computational Fluid Dynamics and validated with ground test data. The validated model is used to quantify the performance of several eductor configurations throughout the range of expected operating conditions and to quantify the amount of compressor inlet temperature measurement bias mitigation each configuration provides.