Flight Test Instrumentation System for a Typical Prototype Civil Aircraft

When an aircraft is manufactured based on a new design, it needs to undergo a series of flight tests before it’s allowed for commercial flight operations. This is done in accordance with the procedures laid by the government airworthiness certifying agency whose aim is to make sure that the aircraft adheres to minimum safety criteria, meets aerodynamic performances etc. It is then that the aircraft project is given a go-ahead for mass commercial production. \nDuring flight testing, various system designers need to check and validate performance of their respective subsystems installed on the aircraft. Based on the designer requirements, different subsystems of the aircraft are instrumented with a variety of sensors and appropriate data acquisition system to capture a number of aircraft health parameters. The data thus generated is stored onboard for post-flight analysis as well as transmitted in real-time through a wireless telemetry link to a ground monitoring station. The presented paper elaborates on a typical instrumentation strategy for flight test purpose and discusses various practical issues encountered while designing and implementing such a strategy. It’s the gist of the relevant work carried out for over a decade.