Flight Parameters Recording for Safety Monitoring and Investigations,

Up to now the in service usage monitoring of the military aircrafts has been conducted mainly relying on g-counters installed on each aircraft, but the extreme complexity of the present combat aircrafts, the variety of their tasks and usage in service, suggest now the opportunity to have a continuous monitoring of the structure and engine usage for checking the integrity and the life consumption. An accurate and complete monitoring system, which is considered cost effective, presents, among the many advantages, those of allowing a greater flight safety. The system in development adopts, as basic philosophy, an on board recording facility on each individual aircraft of all relevant flight and aircraft parameters and a ground equipment performing two levels of analysis: (a) trouble shooting for structure, engine and systems limits exceedances or malfunctions after each flight during the normal turn around time giving a GO/NO GO indication for the next flight and (b) a detailed calculation of fatigue loading experienced during each flight and the consequent residual life evaluation for the critical items, thus allowing the detailed monitoring of the usage of each aircraft. This system is based on the experience gained on the operations of the Italian combat aircraft and represents a new approach to the problem to quarantee the airframe and engine safety. The effectiveness and the configuration of this Maintenance Recording system has been studied with the Italian Airforce which is going to implement the system in their Tornado operational line. (Author)