LESSONS LEARNED DURING THE INTRODUCTION OF NETWORK / IP TELEMETRY IN FLIGHT TEST INSTRUMENTATION FOR HELICOPTERS

Abstract

Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI) architectures are moving more and more towards network topologies. For almost every task, current equipment support connection to the FTI system via Ethernet. However, up to now, the telemetry link has kept the legacy PCM technology for most applications. By implementing network / IP radios, the drawbacks of old fashioned PCM-based telemetry links could be eliminated. Furthermore, new use cases have become possible, and the architecture of FTI installations, both on board and on ground, could be simplified. This paper gives some technical background on networked / IP radios and describes the steps taken during the first introduction of this promising technology. The benefits of this system are explained in order to show the potential of that approach. Beside this, important lessons were learned during the introduction of the network / IP telemetry: from software to hardware topics, from topology to human factors aspects. Eventually, the present installation at the FTI facility is described as well as the status of the migration from S-band PCM/FM to IP C-Band.