DECEMBER 2019

Inside this issue

// DITCH TESTING
The latest instrumentation
and simulation technologies
are modernizing how
aircraft land on water

// DETECT & AVOID

Testing of drones with
automatic collision
avoidance is making
progress in Alaska, USA

// MADE IN SPACE
How 3D printers and
robots designed to build
satellites in orbit are being
tested on Earth by
aerospace engineers

Risky Leading eVTOL developers and industry

experts reveal how they manage risk
when testing experimental aircraft

WWW.AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
 contents

Global briefing
6 // World test update
The latest testing news
from around the globe

8 // hybrid high life

A French firm is ready to fly its
hybrid aircraft for the first time
Inside this issue
12 // Air taxis in a spin
Bell’s Nexus eVTOL is making good


progress through testing and is set
for its first flight in 2023 18 // Detect & Avoid development
Technologies are being developed to enable
14 // Drones down under the next generation of drone operations
Boeing is the first in line to test

24 // Crash test cameras

drones at a new Australian facility

A NASA research centre has hosted a

milestone project that examined the
survivability of aircraft crashes

64
18
32 // Measuring ditch tests
Unlike many tests, recreating the ditching of
an aircraft in water still requires physical tests

38 // Queen Bee to Rattler

Advances in target drones have given rise to
a variety of aerial, land and surface targets

24
46 // Space manufacturing trials
52 3D printers offer a way to remotely build
structures in orbit, but first the processes
have to be tested on Earth

52 // Talking up the changes

How the latest IP technology is finally
changing the way pilots and air traffic
controllers are communicating

58 // Testing talk: Lee Human

AeroTEC’s CEO details the work the company
is to carry out building a flying engine testbed
for Rolls-Royce

64 // Cover story: Risk management
Engineers and experts discuss how to
manage safety, budgets and scheduling risks

16 // academic Insight
Dr Adrian Cole from Cranfield
University on a digital future

70 // products and services

All the latest innovations and
company news

82 // aft cabin
The Lockheed Martin Super
Constellation

58

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 3

 editor’s view
// Trendy metrology
A lot of Stratford in East London has been
regenerated since the London Olympics were held
there eight years ago. Where once there was just
marshland and post-industrial decline, there is
now shopping malls, stadiums, apartments, trendy
offices and artisan food vans.
3DMC, a conference which covers the latest
in industrial metrology across a number of
different sectors was held in a modern and trendy
conference centre in Stratford during October
this year. Its audience of engineers looked slightly
awkward amongst the exposed steel ducting,
concrete and Chi Lattes. But the message at the
conference was clear – innovation is moving
forward fast in the area of measurement.
The conference included a presentation on how
engineers at Renault F1 are using X-ray computed
tomography for non-destructive testing – to
inspect their cars between races quicker and to
examine delamination in 3D printed components.
There was a presentation from German company
3D Aero about how they are using measurements
from 3D cameras so co-bots can be used in aircraft
manufacturing. Metrology is at the core of enabling
the effort to move robots outside of cages and
alongside workers to perform tasks such as drilling
and bolting on fuselages. There were sessions on
laser tracking, targetless photogrammetry and
Aerospace Testing International is the world’s only publication dedicated to
the application of testing, evaluation and inspection in the aviation industry.
The magazine and website presents the latest news, specialist features and
insights on the new technology and test programs most relevant to those
working in civil and military aerospace, launch vehicles and space platforms
// Contributors
Rob Coppinger Paul Willis
Rob is an engineer Paul has been a
turned journalist, who journalist for the past 10
has been writing about years, writing for some
aerospace technology of the UK’s largest
for approaching 20 newspapers and
years. He has recently leading magazines.
relocated to Brittany,
France.
4 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
acoustic thermometry – measuring temperature
using the temperature dependent transit time of
sound in a liquid.
There was also a presentation about Airbus’ new
Advanced Wing Integration Centre (AWIC) in Bristol,
UK. The new centre is central to the company’s R&D
and testing for its next generation of lighter and
more flexible aircraft wing. AWIC has therefore been
built to the most exacting tolerances civil engineers
and builders could provide. Measurements made
in the main hall of the centre during testing are
so precise, academics are studying the difference
having the doors open in the building makes to test
results and how to compensate for it.
There are plenty of interesting engineering
stories with innovation in metrology at their core.
Several more are featured in this issue: in-space
manufacturing, crash testing and ditching in seas to
name a few. Measurement may be one of the more
mundane aspects of test and development to some
people, but without it, aeronautical innovation and
safe air travel would be impossible. A conference in a
trendy area of London is just the start of recognizing
how innovation in measurement is fundamental to
aerospace and many other industries.
Ben Sampson, editor
ben.sampson@markallengroup.com
Paul Eden David Hughes
Editor of the Official David Hughes is an
Royal Air Force Annual aviation writer with
Review magazine 20 years at Aviation
and Salute historical Week magazine and 10
journal, Paul is a in the FAA. He served
dedicated aerospace as a USAF Reserve
writer, editor and C-5 pilot.
blogger.
// The team
EDITOR Ben Sampson
(ben.sampson@markallengroup.com)
ASSISTANT EDITOR Paige Smith
SENIOR ART EDITOR Louise Green
DESIGN CONTRIBUTORS Andy Bass, Anna Davie
PRODUCTION
Sejal Patel
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Chris Jones
PUBLICATION DIRECTOR
Tom Eames (tom.eames@markallengroup.com)
PUBLICATION MANAGER
Jag Kambo (jag.kambo@markallengroup.com)
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Tom Stone
PUBLISHER Simon Hughes
(simon.hughes@markallengroup.com)
COO Jon Benson
CEO Ben Allen
CHAIRMAN Mark Allen
A MARK ALLEN GROUP COMPANY
www.markallengroup.com
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COVER IMAGE: Vertical Aerospace
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 global briefing
WORLD
test update
//NASA ENGINEERS FINISH
X-57 WING TESTING
Engineers at NASA’s Armstrong
Flight Research Center in
California have revealed its X-57
electric aircraft after finishing
structural tests on its latest
wing design.
NASA’s first all-electric X-plane
aims to demonstrate the benefits
electric propulsion may have for
efficiency, noise and emissions.
“Mod II”, which is the X-57’s
first configuration as an electric
aircraft, features electric cruise
motors where two combustion
motors were originally located.
The latest wing design
will permit the
repositioning of the READ MORE
electric cruise motors on our
to the wing tips, website
which engineers
believe could significantly
boost the aircraft’s efficiency.
A future “Mod IV” configuration
will include an additional
12 smaller high-lift motors to
the two larger cruise motors on
each end of the wing to produce
distributed electric propulsion.
California, USA
6 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
// CO-AXIAL HELICOPTER
TESTED IN WIND TUNNEL
Engineers from Sikorsky Aircraft
Corporation and Boeing have
conducted a series of tests at the
USA’s National Full-scale
Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC)
on the SB>1 Defiant, a co-axial
military helicopter being
developed for the Army’s Joint
Multi-Role Technology
Demonstrator (JMR TD) program.
The goal of the wind tunnel
testing was to validate the
aerodynamic performance and
flight mechanics of the aircraft.
The testing was conducted
throughout the first half of 2019.
To accomplish the tests, a 1/5
scale model of the SB>1 Defiant
airframe with powered coaxial
main rotors was placed in the
NFAC 40 by 80ft wind tunnel.
Measurements included
forces and moments on the
various components, as well as
fuselage, empennage and blade
surface pressures.
The full-scale SB>1 Defiant
flight demonstrator is now
undergoing ground and
flight tests at Sikorsky’s flight
test facility.
California, USA
//MBDA TO PURCHASE
GDI SIMULATION
MBDA has signed an agreement
to purchase software company
GDI Simulation from Airbus.
France-based GDI Simulation
develops, assembles and
maintains simulation systems for
ground vehicles and for MBDA
battlefield missiles. The firm
includes the French Armed
Forces amongst its customers.
The company will continue
to operate independently under
the ownership of MBDA as a
prime contractor to the DGA
for simulation systems
equipment and as a supplier to
MBDA. Terms of the deal are not
being disclosed.
Île-de-France, France
// BELUGAXL RECEIVES
EASA TYPE CERTIFICATION
Airbus’ BelugaXL cargo transport
aircraft has received type
certification from the European
Aviation Safety Agency ahead of
its planned entry into service
early next year.
The aircraft is 63m (206ft)
long, around 7m (23ft) longer
than the Beluga ST it is replacing
and can carry 30% more cargo.
The Beluga XL has been modified
to feature a highly-enlarged
cargo bay structure and
modified rear and
tail section. watch the
Airbus uses the video onLINE
Beluga aircraft to move
large sections of aircraft
between 11 of its manufacturing
and assembly sites in Europe.
The aircraft is an integral part
of Airbus’ industrial system and a
key enabler for its production
ramp-up requirements
beyond 2019. The BelugaXL
allows for 30% extra transport
capacity, being 7m longer and 1m
wider than its predecessor
the BelugaST.
The company plans to have
built six Beluga XLs by 2023
to replace its current fleet of
Beluga STs.
Toulouse, France
 global briefing

//QANTAS RUNS RESEARCH

FLIGHTS INTO JET LAG
Australian airline Qantas’s
second of three research flights
into jet lag and crew behavior

// CHINA TARGETS 2020
FOR MARS LANDING
Xi’an Aerospace Propulsion
Institute, a subsidiary of China
Aerospace Science and
Technology, China’s main space
contractor, has revealed that the
propulsion system for its Mars
spacecraft has passed all of its
necessary tests.
Launching in 2020, China’s
Mars mission will attempt to put
a probe in orbit around the
red planet and land a rover on
its surface.
The Shanghai Institute of
Space Propulsion has completed
tests of the spacecraft’s
propulsion system for the
hovering, hazard avoidance,
slow-down, and landing stages of
a Mars landing attempt. The
successful tests verified the
performance and control of the
propulsion system, in which one
engine producing 7,500N of
thrust will provide the majority of
force required to decelerate the
spacecraft for landing, said
the Institute
China’s solar-powered Mars
rover will, at 240kg, be twice the
mass of China’s two lunar rovers.
Shanghai,China
//MITSUBISHI SHIPS
FIRST PW1200G ENGINE
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Aero
Engines has shipped the first
Pratt & Whitney GTF PW1200G
engine domestically assembled
in Japan.
The engine was sent to
Mitsubishi Aircraft’s Flight Test
Center in Moses Lake,
Washington, where it will be
installed to support on-going
testing of the SpaceJet regional
passenger jet.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Aero Engines (MHIAEAL) is
seeking approval from the FAA to
assemble PW1200G engines in
the future from its Komaki
factory. If granted the plant
would become the first final
assembly line in Japan for the
production of commercial airliner
jet engines.
Assembly of the first PW1200G
engine in Japan began in 2017.
Komaki, Japan
AerospaceTestingInternational.com
landed in Sydney in November
after travelling from London non-
stop in 19 hours and 19 minutes.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner
reduced travel time by two hours
compared with current one-stop
services from the east coast of
Australia. Qantas aims to run
non-stop flights from Sydney to
London and New York from 2023
but is first investigating ways of
improving crew and passenger
well-being on what it
calls “ultra” long haul
read more services, before making
online a final decision on the
new route.
The flight is only the
second time any commercial
airline has flown this route
non-stop, after Qantas flew a
near-empty 747-400 in 1989.
The airline has re-purposed
the delivery flights of three brand
new 787 Dreamliner aircraft for
the research project.
Sydney, Australia
For regular news updates:

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 7

 global briefing
French Firm
ready for
first hybrid
flight
A
ircraft developer VoltAero expects the first
hybrid flight of its prototype aircraft to take
place in the west of France in February, as it
aims for certification within three years and to be
manufacturing 150 aircraft a year by 2025.
There are around 30 hybrid fixed wing aircraft
in development around the world. Only a few
series-hybrid electric aircraft have been
successfully flight tested, such as the Diamond
E-Star and Ampaire’s Electric EEL.
VoltAero is headed up by former Airbus chief
technology officer Jean Botti and technical
director Didier Esteyene. Botti led the development
of the Airbus E-Fan, a prototype electric aircraft
that flew in 2014 which was built by Esteyene at
French company Aéro Composites Saintonge.
The startup, which is headquartered in Royan,
France aims to be one of the first to market with its
4-9 seater hybrid aircraft called Cassio, which
Botti believes could radically alter the general and
business aviation market. VoltAero has been using
8 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
two platforms so far in the development of its
Cassio hybrid-electric aircraft – a ground-based
iron bird for systems integration testing and a
flight testbed.
The flight testbed is a modified Cessna 337
Skymaster, which was chosen for the airframe’s
adaptability to Cassio’s “push-pull” propulsion
concept.
The flight testbed is being flown this month to
test the electric motors so their performance can
be mapped in preparation for their use in the
hybrid system. A nacelle has been installed on
each wing that will accommodate two EngineUS
45 electric motors, along with the associated
lithium-ion batteries for the “pull” propulsion.
During January, VoltAero engineers then plan to
remove the 337 Skymaster’s original front-facing
internal combustion engine, which is to be
replaced by a smooth nose fairing. The original
rear-mounted internal combustion motor will be
substituted by the hybrid power module – which
incorporates three 60-kW EMRAX electric motors
and a 250hp (184kW) internal combustion engine,
both of which drive a common shaft for the
“pusher” propeller.
“We are confident we will have our first fully
hybrid configuration testbed flying by the end of
February or early March” said Botti, CEO of
VoltAero. “I think we will surprise many people
with our first flight. The aircraft will be significantly
changed in respect to the original 337 Skymaster.”
The testbed aircraft is expected to fly for around
20 hours before engineers modify it for its final 100
hours of flight testing by adding an optimized
propeller on the rear hybrid power module.
“We picked the 337 as our testbed because we
wanted distributed propulsion and nine seats. We
wanted to be able to maximize power output and
efficiency,” said Botti.
In the configuration to be validated during flight
testing, the “pull” electric motors’ propellers will be
used mainly during the Cassio’s takeoffs and
 global briefing

We are confident our first

fully-hybrid configuration
testbed will be flying
by the end of February

// Artist’s concept
showing the “push-pull”
propulsion configuration
for VoltAero’s Cassio 1
flight test aircraft

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 9

 global briefing

I am convinced this is the future

of general aviation – the business
case works really well
landings, where it will operate in all-electric mode to
Versatile electric reduce emissions. Batteries in the wings will provide
electrical power.
motors to enable For the aft-mounted hybrid power module, its
electric motors and rear propeller will provide the
electric flight “push” during cruise, with electrical power coming // The design bureau at the company’s
from the batteries installed in the nose fairing. The Aérodrome de Royan-Médis HQ in France
VoltAero is partnering with a number of suppliers to
help develop the Cassio 1, including Safran Electrical & power module’s thermal motor will serve to recharge
Power, which is supplying two EngineUS 45 motors for all of the aircraft’s batteries.
the aircraft. The final version of the Cassio will weigh 2.5 tons We also want to stay in the kilowatt range for battery
The two motors deliver a continuous power each of to qualify for EASA’s CS-23 certification, will have a power. Certification in the MW range will take much
45 kW (70kW maximum). cruising speed of 200 knots, faster than aircraft made longer,” he said
The motor has already been flight tested several by direct competitors such as Cirrus and Cessna and VoltAero plans to have started production of the
times. Florent Nierlich, head of R&T programs power a range of 800km. It will use 600kW of power and final aircraft by the “start of 2023” and to be
division, Safran Electrical and Power said, “We learnt produce 20% less emissions than similar aircraft. producing around 150 aircraft a year by 2025.
a lot during the tests. There has also been extensive “The hybrid configuration means if there is a big VoltAero is targeting the general and business
ground testing to achieve a deep characterisation of issue with the electric side you can still land safely. aviation market with Cassio. The aircraft will require a
the product. We’ve been happy with its performance, maximum 1,800ft. runway length for takeoff, opening
it’s met expectations.” up the possibility of using it at smaller airports. “I am
“We are in the early stages of electrification and it convinced this is the future of general aviation. The
is good to do as many flight tests as possible. Each lower cost of ownership and the business case work
gives us valuable data about the motor’s performance really well. We need to better use the small airport
in different conditions, airspeed and temperatures.”
infrastructures. Most of them are idle,” said Botti.\\
Nierlich said that improving battery energy density
is a key short-term technical challenge that must be
addressed for the widespread electrification of
aviation, but believes that some batteries are good
enough for a few early applications.
Furthermore, he believes energy density will
improve thanks to the push from the automotive
industry. “We are focusing on the packaging and the
management system of the battery, which has to be
very different for aerospace applications compared to
automotive,” said Nierlich.“For us the main challenges // Technical Director Didier Esteyne
are in the electrical protections and the integration of prepares an EngineUS 45 motor for
the controller with the electrical motor. its fit-check on the Cassio 1 flight
“We are embedding the motor controller in the test aircraft
motor housing to create an integrated drive system,
ensuring there is adequate electrical protection.”
Safran is taking a flexible and scalable approach to
electrification. “We are preparing the technology and
its industrialization – achieving the right
level of readiness. We believe the
market could be massive,”
“EngineUS is flexible, an
electrical motor that can be // The iron bird has
used on various aircraft, validated the hybrid
including helicopters and in electric propulsion
hybrid configurations,” Nierlich added. system for the Cassio 1
flight testbed aircraft

For regular news updates:

AerospaceTestingInternational.com

10 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM

 global briefing

// The Nexus uses technology

and knowledge from Bell military
programs such as the V-280

Bell Nexus
eVTOL moves
towards
certification
B
ell’s Nexus electric Vertical Take Off and Landing
aircraft is making good progress through testing, a
senior engineer on the program has said, while
re-confirming its first flight for 2023.
The Nexus features a central wing, integrated landing
skids, a V-tail and a short horizontal stabilizer. The
prototype seats five including the pilot and has an
anticipated range of 150 miles with a cruise speed of
around 178 mph .
Bell has said it plans for the electric Vertical Take Off
and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft to be certified by the “mid
to late 2020s”. Development of the aircraft started four
years ago.
The company is leveraging its experience in military
tilt rotors, such as the V-22 Osprey to develop the Nexus.
Glenn Isbell, vice president, rapid prototyping and
manufacturing innovation at Bell Flight said he believes
its expertise in fly-by-wire flight control systems and
transitioning from vertical to horizontal flight gives it an
advantage over other companies developing eVTOLs.
“We’ve been doing fly-by-wire on conversion for thirty
years, since the V22. We’ve learnt lots of lessons along
the way. The V-280 Valor is flying and is a totally
fly-by-wire conversion. It’s the least risky part for us.
“Other people may struggle with it. The conversion
between rotors pointing down and rotors pointing rear is
not always easy. Especially when you start looking at all
the different operating environments.
“We are big believers in getting on wing as fast as you
can. You have to have significant control authority when
you are in vertical mode. Things can happen like wind
gusts in vertical mode which mean you need power. An
underpowered, under-rotored aircraft trying to land

12 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM

 global briefing

read
the full
interview
online

// Bell’s Nexus will seat

five passengers and have
a cruise speed of 178mph

vertically will experience scenarios that cause issues.”
The Nexus has six tilting ducted fans, each powered
by a different electric motor to provide redundancy. It
also has a series-hybrid power system. Isbell said, “We
are one of the few eVTOLs that has ducts as opposed to
open rotor. We believe that for public acceptance, safety,
noise and performance that it is the right path.
“The electric motors simplify a lot of things ¬ it builds
redundancy in. The hybrid approach gives us legs in
vertical mode. You use a lot of power in vertical – when
you are testing and doing certification you have to hover
for long periods of time. You need a solution to that or
you have to land every 10 minutes,” said Isbell.
“A lot of people are doing demonstration testing at the
moment. But to do cert testing in a reasonable time
frame, you have to solve these kinds of problems.”
Isbell confirmed that the Nexus development
program is targeting 2023 for first flight, “It’s still in play,”
he said. “It’s a fabulous time, the innovative spirit in this
space is great. The Vertical Flight Society has
categorized 200 different eVTOL concepts that people
are trying to build.
“It’s a race, it’s just very uncertain where and when
the finish line is. Everyone is guessing where the end
point is at the moment and running in that direction.
“Some people may get there early and some may get
there late, from a business standpoint timing things
right is the biggest challenge. \\
For regular news updates:
AerospaceTestingInternational.com

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 13

 global briefing
Boeing to
A
multimillion commercial drone
flight testing facility at Cloncurry
Airport in Queensland, Australia is
test drones
set to open next year with The Boeing
Company as its first user.
Construction of the testing facility,
which is being funded by an AU$14.5
million (US$10 million) investment from
at new
local government, is expected to begin
early next year with operations
commencing later in 2020.
The initial investment will cover
construction of the first stage of the
Australian
facility, including a hangar, operations
room and surveillance radar and
communications equipment. The
center will test small-to-medium sized
drones weighing between 30-150kg
facility
over distances of 25km along a
designated flight path.
Shane Arnott, Boeing’s director of
Phantom Works International said the
company is looking forward to using
the flight test facility in 2020 to safely
and securely test the latest advances
in unmanned systems technology.
Arnott said, “The creation of one of
the world’s largest commercial
unmanned flight test facilities is critical
to establishing Australia as a global
leader in autonomous technology.”
For regular news updates: The opening of the drone flight
testing centre in Queensland follows
AerospaceTestingInternational.com
14 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
// Testing in Australia will aid
the development of the Loyal
Wingman operational concept
an announcement earlier this year by
Boeing that it will develop the Loyal
Wingman demonstrator in Australia.
Loyal Wingman is a so-called
“teaming” concept, where a drone
supports and extends piloted aircraft
during military missions.
Boeing Australia has already fielded
a team of 15 autonomous testbed
aircraft to refine systems required for
teaming, such as autonomous control
algorithms, data fusion, object
detection systems, and collision
avoidance behaviors.
Earlier this month, the company
announced it had reached a significant
milestone with its first autonomous
teamed flights involving high
performance jets:
Boeing said it will be testing high
performance airborne testbeds at
Cloncurry as part of an autonomy R&D
program, the results of which will
contribute to prototypes, such as the
Loyal Wingman – Advanced
Development Program.
The Minister for state development
responsible for the Queensland Drone
Strategy, Cameron Dick, said, “We have
secured the world’s largest aerospace
group, Boeing, to be the first to conduct
trials at the facility, creating a new
aerospace industry for the region.” \\
9
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The digital challenge
Dr Adrian Cole, progamme manager at Cranfield University, on
why testing needs to embrace the digital world more
T
he World Economic Forum predicted in 2017 that developments in
digital aviation would lead to a US$700 billion saving by 2025. It
foresees these savings will be manifested in reduced
environmental impacts, higher levels of security, safety and cost
savings for customers. The result would be increased profitability for
the aviation and travel industry of around US$305 billion, it estimates.
Naturally, no-one involved wants to wed themselves to untested
technologies. It may continue to be a boom time in terms of passenger
numbers, but profit margins remain tight and the threat of wasted and
stranded assets is very real. Aviation is also under huge pressure to
adapt its operations to a low carbon future and to increase the use of
airspace using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and personal air
mobility concepts.
At Cranfield University we are developing a suite of facilities,
programs and research to make the digital revolution viable. At the
heart of this is DARTeC, the Digital Aviation Research and Technology
Centre, which will open its doors next year. Working alongside
Cranfield’s own airport and runway and its new Aerospace Integration
Research Centre, DARTeC is already involved with projects that are
helping to clarify the vision of what the new aviation ecosystem will
look like and what’s involved in making it deliverable in practice.
Research themes include: the enabling of unmanned traffic
management, providing a seamless passenger experience, providing
next generation aircraft maintenance systems, digital air traffic control
and enhancing air traffic connectivity. Ultimately though, DARTeC is
Academic insight
// Cranfield’s £65 million
(US$84 million) Digital
Aviation Research and
Technology Centre is due
to open in 2020
about creating impact for passengers, operations and on improving
the bottom line of the industry.
One example is how we are looking at eliminating the “triple wait”
faced by travellers at airports, while ensuring the highest levels of
security. DARTeC will have its own airport check-in gate and make use
of sample flows of passengers to form a living laboratory. We will test
new wayfinding approaches and interactive digital signage.
Cranfield is also leading work on autonomous maintenance. A
health monitoring system for aircraft has already been trialed at the
University and is awaiting certification for the additive manufacturing
processes that will allow for on-site, immediate repairs.
Meanwhile a 16km “test track in the sky” – the UK’s National Beyond
visual line of sight Experimentation Corridor (NBEC) – has been setup.
The NBEC is being used to examine the realities of integrating
conventional air traffic with new UAV services. It will help develop the
regulations, procedures and guidelines for UAVs to enable the delivery
of goods, to support police and other emergency service operations,
and for the inspection of infrastructure.
Aviation as a whole is under severe stress from demands for new
access and flexibility. The sector also needs to make itself more
environmentally sustainable in the long-term to avoid legislation. The
solutions will only come from an acceleration in creative thinking by
all industry organizations. Most importantly of all, the industry needs
to think holistically to deliver big strides forward with integrated
systems, not piecemeal steps. \\
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 17
 Drone Testing
// DAVID HUGHES

Machine
vision

18 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM

 Drone Testing

A network of drone R&D sites in the USA being led

from Alaska is developing the technologies to enable
the next generation of drone operations

Illustration - Sean Rodwell

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 19

 Drone Testing
“One of our big goals up here is large
scale cargo delivery – we see small
package delivery as a novelty”
I
f you want to prove your drone can inspect a
bridge in the middle of nowhere, fly
hundreds of pounds of supplies into a remote
airport, search for wildlife, inspect a
pipeline, look for a missing boy or survey a wildfire,
where do you go?
The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) had
already been testing drones for civil aviation use for 12
years when the FAA selected it as one of its UAS test sites
in 2013. Recently, Alaska became the site for the first
FAA-approved flight of a civil drone beyond visual line of
sight (BVLOS) without human observers on the ground.
During the flight test on July 31 this year, operators flew
a Skyfront Perimeter Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV)
quadcopter about six kilometers for 30 minutes along the
Alyeska trans-Alaska pipeline. During the flight
operators used onboard and ground-based detection
systems to avoid other aircraft.
BVLOS operation is the holy grail for the
development of small drones. Once it can be achieved
safely, drones can carry out inspections or deliver
packages to homes remotely and autonomously – even at
night or while flying over people. This requires detect
and avoid technology (D&A). The drone industry and the
20 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
400ft
altitude of the drone
in the first
FAA are working to come up with a technical means FAA-approved
for a drone to detect and avoid other drones and BVLOS flight
aircraft without being piloted by a human.
DATA VISION SOURCES
The Perimeter UAV used for the first FAA-approved
BVLOS flight was equipped with an Iris Automation
Casia electro-optical sensor that can see and identify a
Cessna at two kilometers. It uses an off-the-shelf camera
and computer vision software. Alexander Harmsen, the
CEO of Casia, the Silicon Valley start-up that invented
the sensor, says it has already showed its superiority over 1 // A drone flew six
human vision during a different exercise in Alaska. In kilometers along the
that test, it detected a Cessna converging on a drone at Alyeska trans-Alaska
low altitude from different angles 95% of the time before pipeline in the first FAA
human observers on the aircraft spotted the Cessna. approved BVLOS flight test
For the BVLOS test, UAF researchers mounted (Photo: University of Alaska
Fairbanks / Sean
Echodyne phased array radars on the ground as backup Tevebaugh)
sensors. Echodyne makes a compact, solid-state, beam-
steering radar sensor using Metamaterial Electronically 2 // Echodyne’s beam
Scanning Array (MESA) technology. steering radar was used as
backup in the latest drone
Metamaterials are composites made using printed detect and avoid tests at
circuit board manufacturing processes with materials the University of Alaska
like plastic and metal to produce geometric properties Fairbanks

1 conducted the recent BVLOS pipeline flight test. The test
that can manipulate electromagnetic waves. Echodyne is
a four-year old startup based in the Seattle area backed
by Bill Gates and other investors.
The radar can detect a Cessna at three kilometers
and a small drone at nearly a kilometer. And then while
tracking a target, or as many as 15, it can scan
for other targets using multiple beams. The
1.25kg unit measures 20.3 x 16.3 x 4cm
and provides coverage of 120° in
azimuth and 80° in elevation.
95%
amount of time the
Echodyne is marketing the ground
version for infrastructure security
Iris Automation Casia
applications. It has also developed a
electro-optical sensor
smaller airborne version that can see
spotted a Cessna
weather as well as aircraft.
before a human eye
Drones can also be equipped with
small ADS-B In receivers to detect any
manned aircraft broadcasting on ADS-B Out. Or
they can be equipped with ADS-B Out so the flight test
team on the ground can easily track the whereabouts of
the drones. These ADS-B components are becoming
smaller. Montana, USA-based startup uAvionix makes
ADS-B equipment the size of a US postage stamp, 63cm
thick. The miniaturization of drone avionics and sensors
is being driven in part by the military, which wants to
3km
maximum distance
at which an Echodyne
phased array radar can
put increasingly advanced
detect a Cessna
capabilities on drones,
including electronic warfare
tasks. The founder of uAvionix
has lots of electronics
miniaturization experience from his
time as a chief technology at a Silicon Valley
chip manufacturer.
DRONE SENSING
Each drone expert interviewed for this article agreed
that an effective detect and avoid system in a UAV
requires more than one sensor and that there will be no
single solution.
“We know the FAA likes redundancy,” says Cathy
Cahill from UAF, who directed the research team that
team deployed eight Echodyne radars on the ground,
four of them owned by the university. Everybody knows
that safety is paramount and flight test organizations
cannot afford to have drones interfere with or collide
with manned aircraft if the BVLOS tests are to continue.
The drone in the pipeline test had to stay just 400ft
above the pipeline and flew up and down hills
maintaining the correct altitude. When it
took off at the start, the drone
immediately disappeared over the lip of
a ridge to follow the pipeline
descending a hillside. One additional
challenge of testing in Alaska is that
pilots often fly below 400ft and think
pipelines are something to follow. In
addition, pilots, such as hunters may also
choose to not turn ADS-B Out on when
they are scouting. According to Cahill, scud
running at low level below clouds is a problem
and is why a lot of accidents occur in Alaska. “Up here,
IFR stands for ‘I Follow Rivers’ not for ‘Instrument Flight
Rules’,” she says.
The university is also part of the FAA’s UAS Center
for Excellence program. The university’s Alaska Center
for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI),
which is run by Cahill, was also picked for a new FAA-led
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019
Drone Testing
2
project called the Integration Pilot
Program (IPP). The IPP was formed
in 2017 to help the FAA devise new
rules, policy and guidance for low-
altitude UAV operations. ACUASI also
leads the Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range
Complex (PPUTRC), a partnership of test
ranges and experts in the USA, including
sites in Oregon and Hawaii also known as
the Pan-Pacific Partnership.
ALASKAN APPLICATIONS
Alaska has one of the greatest needs for
drone operations to take over hazardous
duty from manned aircraft in the USA.
As is the case elsewhere in the USA. there
is a pilot shortage in Alaska as older,
experienced pilots in the state retire. And
Cahill notes, every now and then Alaska
loses a pilot and a wildlife biologist on a
wildlife counting mission that could just
as easily be done by a drone – if only the
BVLOS problem is solved. The FAA has
not established rules and regulations yet
for BVLOS even though it allows a few
programs with waivers. Every test of
D&A technology and techniques in
Alaska and at the other FAA sites and
tests contribute data to understanding
what suite of sensors can do the job to
help drones avoid collisions.
The ultimate goal in Alaska that may
take a decade or more to solve is for
drones to serve remote villages with
deliveries rather than manned aircraft.
More than 80% of Alaska’s communities
can’t be reached by road and 169 of them
depend entirely on aircraft for the
delivery of goods and services. Many of
these communities are poor, but the cost
of air shipment on manned aircraft
means a gallon of milk costs US$12.
Jimmy Parrish, business director for
21
 Drone Testing
ACUASI says, “One of our big goals up
here is large scale cargo delivery. We see
small package delivery as a novelty.”
Most of these remote communities
depend on air taxi and commuter aircraft
operating under FAA Part 135 rules. A
string of accidents during the summer
prompted the NTSB Chairman Robert L.
Sumwalt to hold a safety roundtable with
100 aircraft operators, safety experts,
industry associations and tribal leaders at
the University of Alaska Anchorage in
September. By that point Alaska
had experienced one of its worst air
safety years ever with 63 accidents and
32 deaths.
“The number of Part 135 fatal
accidents in Alaska is troubling,” he said
at the event, noting the difficult terrain,
bad weather and limited infrastructure.
“It’s easy to say Alaska is different, but
that doesn’t excuse it,” Sumwalt added.
“We need to do better.” Between January
2008 and June 2019, 80 people died in 207
accidents involving Part 135 operations in
the state.
The effect of the accidents is to create
more urgency in Alaska to progress the
use of unmanned aircraft, especially for
hazardous missions such as flying over
frigid oceans that border the state to
count endangered whales. If an aircraft
goes down in the ocean, the chances of
the pilot surviving are not good. “The
whole UAV movement is being held up by
some of the BVLOS limitations,” says
“The whole UAV movement
is being held up by some of
the BVLOS limitations”
4 Research Center, California
22 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
Cahill, who hopes that progress is made soon
by the FAA in defining how this can and
should be done in routine operations. “We
need to break through on BVLOS to enable
longer range and duration missions,” she adds.
ALTERNATE TEST RANGES
Alaska already has plenty of wide-open spaces, rugged
terrain, mountains and extreme weather conditions
where the flight tests can be conducted. But developers
and operators may need more than the few hours of
sunlight a day that Alaska offers during winter to test
their drones.
As the leader of the Pan-Pacific Partnership, Cahill
can refer drone operators and related manufacturers to
her colleagues in Hawaii. For example,
HAPSMobile, a joint venture of
AeroVironment and Japan’s Softbank,
plans to fly its HAWK30 solar powered
unmanned aircraft into the
stratosphere. What better place to
launch the HAWK30 with its
65,000ft
altitude the HAWK30
impressive 79.2m wingspan than from
drone will fly at
a grass field on the Hawaiian Island of
Lanai. The site used to be a pineapple
field. The electric HAWK30 is powered by
solar panels on top of its wings.
Hawaii UAS Test Ranger director Ted
Ralston said the purpose of the planned HAWK30 flight
tests starting next year will be to check airworthiness,
solar performance, system reliability, communications
payload functionality and certification parameters. The
mission of HAWK30 is to serve as a high altitude pseudo- how Alaska and its team members are making important
satellite to provide 5G connectivity by flying in the
stratosphere at around 65,000ft for missions lasting
several months.
3
3 // uAvionix’s pingRX
ADS-B receiver weighs
five grams, receives
position reports and
displays surrounding
aircraft to the UAS pilot
Ralston says the Alaska test team’s experience with
air traffic compliance, operations management and
aviation’s Safety Management System discipline is
helping his Hawaiian team with drone testing. He adds
that the entire drone community needs to embrace this
type of aerospace discipline and the use of metrics to get
everything to work correctly.
At another FAA test site at New Mexico State
University in Las Cruces, engineering manager
Henry Cathey says he often works with the
Alaska test site on cooperative efforts such
as testing detect and avoid capabilities.
The university affiliated New Mexico
UAS Flight Test Center has a 15,000ft2
hangar at Las Cruces International
Airport supporting UAV testing with
drones flying over 15,000 square miles
of southwestern New Mexico at
altitudes of up to 19,999ft. The Alaska and
New Mexico test sites complement one
another by allowing drone operators to conduct
flights in the middle of the summer in New Mexico and
the middle of winter in Alaska.
So if drone developers want to experience “fire and
ice” the Pan-Pacific partnership is the place to be. This is
contributions to the testing of drones as the FAA tries to
enable the future with the many benefits of widespread
commercial operations. \\
4 // The HAWK30 drone
during its first flight at the
NASA Armstrong Flight
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Swinging
into action The largest airframe ever
dropped at the NASA Langley
Research Center’s crash test
facility had the latest camera
technology installed on it
to help collect data and provide
insights about aircraft structures

24 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM

 High-speed cameras

// The Fokker F-28 hangs from

a gantry at NASA’s Langley
Research Center in Hampton
Virginia, before it is dropped

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 25

 High-speed cameras
T
he 150ft drop, on to a target of packed
earth, lasted four seconds. Those few
seconds were the result of nearly a
year of preparation, says Dr Justin
Littell, NASA’s lead researcher for the crash test.
“We started planning in July 2018 and we did the test
during June this year,” he says.
The 33,000 lbs Fokker is the largest airframe ever
dropped at Langley’s Landing and Impact Research
Facility, which is also known as the gantry. The 240ft
high steel structure has a pivotal place in the history of
aerospace testing.
Built in 1963, the gantry was originally called the
Lunar Landing Research Facility and was where the
Apollo astronauts trained to land on the moon. During
the 1970s the field of aviation crash testing was
pioneered here.
Research carried out at the Landing Research Facility,
which is now a US national historic monument,
contributed directly to the development of many aviation
safety standards, says Littell.
“One of the major developments that came out of here
was the dynamic seat test,” he says. “They carried out
several full-scale crash tests here and with that data
worked out the qualification standards for seats.”
The Fokker crash test was carried out by NASA and
the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). According to the
26 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
1// Langley’s Landing
and Impact Research
Gantry in 1969, during
testing of the lunar module.
FAA, the Langley facility has made a
major contribution to aviation safety,
particularly in helping aircraft makers
understand how to manage the energy
that is transferred to the occupants
during a crash scenario.
While modern crash tests look similar
to those done in the 1970s, the use of
electronics and computer simulation has
made the set up and data collection
process vastly different.
STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCE
This summer’s crash worthiness test on
the Fokker F-28 – a regional jet used on
short to medium-haul flights – was
conducted to advance research on the
structural performance of this style and
size of aircraft.
The third test in a series, the tests
preceding it involved vertical drops of
F-28 fuselage sections. The full aircraft
test added the component of forward
velocity to the vertical drop.
It did this by suspending the aircraft
from cables set up in a pendulum
configuration, so that plane’s trajectory
PREPARING FOR A CRASH
After nearly a year of planning the crash
test of the Fokker F-28, the event at NASA’s
Langley Research Centre was a highly
orchestrated operation. Nothing was left
to chance – final preparations began three
days before the drop, explains NASA’s
Dr Justin Littell, who was lead researcher for
the test.
“Typically, a test will have an engineer, in
this case me – who provides a check-list of
how it is going to be performed,” says Littell.
This includes double-checking the data
systems and high-speed cameras are
4
working in a dry run.
An aspect the test engineer has limited
control over is the weather. “The Fokker
crash test was delayed by the weather,” says
Littell. “We had to stand down a day because
a thunderstorm came through, which are
relatively common in Virginia at that time
of year.”
As well as the test engineer the
pyrotechnic crew and safety personnel
are on hand during final preparations.
The pyrotechnic crew are responsible for
priming the pyrotechnic cutter, a guillotine
device that splices through the pull-back
cable used to hoist the plane in to place.
In the past the pull-back cable, like the
four cables that the aircraft swings down
on, was typically made from steel. But
many crash test facilities are now switching
to lighter weight cables made from a
high-density plastic which is called high
modulate polyethylene.
Once the check-list is complete the plane
is hoisted up. With everything ready the
countdown is initiated. Then, at the moment
of release, an electric current is supplied to
the pyrotechnic cutters, causing them to cut
the cable.
“After that it’s just pure gravity and the
pendulum equation,” says Littell.
 High-speed cameras

2 // Final preparations for

the test took three days
3// The Fokker is the largest
aircraft dropped using the
gantry at NASA Langley
4// Justin Littell, engineer at
NASA Langley’s Structural
Dynamics Branch
3
during the drop was both horizontal and
vertical. Planning for a complex test like 2
this begins by asking yourself a series of
questions, says Littell.
“We ask: What kind of impact conditions do
we want? What kind of instrumentation do we want?
What is technically feasible within the constraints of the
facility? From these questions we develop all the
different areas of the test.”
Instrumentation used in the test either monitored
the aircraft or monitored the anthropomorphic test
devices, the crash test dummies, on board.

LIFE OF A DUMMY
Littell’s team used a number of crash test dummies
ranging in body types, from infants to obese male
adults. The dummies were placed throughout
the cabin. Special attention was put on the
positioning of the dummies conforming
to the 50th percentile, because this is
the body type that the FAA uses in
its regulations.
The dummies were fitted with
accelerometers in the head, chest 4
and pelvis and load cells in the
spinal column and neck. The load
cells measure force, says Littell,
“The camera can show
“indicating compression in the spinal
column and whiplash in the neck.” you that a dummy sunk in
As well as the sensors inside them, the
dummies were also monitored using cameras
mounted inside the cabin. The cameras allow researchers
its seat and that’s why
to correlate measurements from the body-mounted
sensors with movements the dummies make.
there’s a high load
“For example, the camera can show you that a
dummy sunk in its seat and that’s why there’s a high load
measurement on the load cell”
measurement on the load cell,” says Littell. “It is able to
give us a complete picture of what the dummies
experience on board.”
For the Fokker test, high-speed ruggedized cameras fuselage using a technique known as digital image Aviation Research (NIAR) in Wichita
were trained on all the dummies except for the pilot. The correlation (DIC). State University, USA. But DIC – helped by
cameras, which are designed to withstand high g-forces, ultra-high-speed cameras, some of which
were mounted to the cabin’s overhead racks using a SEEING DOTS can take up to half a million frames per
gimbal system. The DIC process involves painting the exterior of the second – allows for far greater definition,
Littell’s team also used several high-definition 4K fuselage with black dots. Littell says, “We then run a giving researchers a much clearer picture
cameras to monitor both the dummies and deformation calibration procedure on the cameras, which allows of “how stress and strain waves travel
to the cabin that occurred during the impact. The them to track the movements of these dots throughout through the structure during a crash”,
aircraft was also fitted with accelerometers throughout the crash,” he says. “By measuring how the dots move says Olivares.
the airframe – in the floor, in seat bases and overhead relative to each other, we can calculate fuselage strain To help clarify this picture software is
bins, and in the engine, tail and nose. and deformation.” used to analyze and display the level of
Such a high volume of instrumentation produces a lot Before DIC, displacement was measured by fitting displacement in color-coded graphics.
of data. In total, the data acquisition system for the crash strain gauges to the fuselage, an expensive and labour- The NIAR provides certification
test used 300 channels. Outside of the aircraft, a further intensive process, says Gerardo Olivares, director and testing for aircraft OEMs, many of which
set of ground-based cameras were used to monitor the senior research scientist at the US National Institute for have a manufacturing presence in

28 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM

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 High-speed cameras
“We can look at the impact down
to the level of organ tissue”
Wichita. The Institute is set to move to a
new facility on the university campus
early in 2020.
VIRTUAL TESTING
While the new facility will continue to
carry out physical crash tests, Olivares
says that the NIAR is moving increasingly
towards virtual testing using computer
simulations. “Once we can convince the
authorities that the models are
predictable, the idea is to replace full-scale
physical testing,” he says.
He predicts that it will take around 15
years to spread the simulation models
currently being used in their labs
throughout the aviation industry.
Although, as Olivares notes, testing with
simulation models is already happening.
“When they started building the Boeing
787 and Airbus A350 out of composite
materials, the FAA was worried that they
wouldn’t have the same safety standards
as metallic airframes. So, they tried to get
the two OEMs to carry out full-scale drop
tests, but they refused,” he says.
“In the end they came to an
agreement that they could drop test a
30 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
section of the aircraft. If they were able to prove that
simulations could accurately predict the damage to the
aircraft section, then they could use simulations for full-
scale testing.”
Both Boeing and Airbus were able to show
simulations can accurately predict damage sustained
during a crash. Furthermore, crash test simulations can
also give engineers a level of detail impossible with
physical tests, says Olivares.
“We’re working on developing human body models so
we can better understand the injury mechanics,” he says.
“Because with the level of complexity contained in some
of these mathematical models, we can look at the crash
impact right down to the level of organ tissue and bones.”
Another major advantage virtual testing offers is the
possibility for near-infinite variability in the parameters
of the test, says Olivares. Unlike with physical tests,
planes crash-tested in simulations can be dropped onto
any type of terrain and in any type of weather condition.
“Simulation is going to bring us to a more real world
understanding of the requirements because right now
with the physical testing we’re working in a very
constrained way,” he says.
The structural analysis techniques that inform the
models were first developed for the automotive sector.
Olivares says that while aerospace is generally
conservative when it comes to changes to flight safety – a
fact that he attributes to the heightened risk of fatalities
4// Researchers prepare
crash test dummies inside
the Fokker F-28.
VIRTUAL CRASH-TESTING
One of the most important steps in the use
of simulation technologies for crash testing
is convincing regulators that digital models
can accurately mirror reality.
At the National Institute for Aviation
Research (NIAR) in Wichita State University,
USA, proof-of-concept work is applying
simulations to real-world examples.
Recently this was done with an accident
reconstruction of a Turkish airlines 737 that
crashed on its approach to Schipol airport in
2009 with the loss of nine lives.
“We selected this accident to do a
reconstruction because we had already
carried out a drop test on a 737 section for
the FAA, so we already had the data on how
it behaves under impact,” says the Gerardo
Olivares, director and senior research
scientist at NIAR.
Olivares’ team built a virtual
reconstruction of the full aircraft using the
laboratory test data.
“At the end we compared the structural
deformations to see if our simulation
matched what actually happened.”
Olivares’ team found that the models
accurately predicted the damage to the
crashed 737’s airframe.
associated with plane crashes – there is a growing
understanding within aviation that the future of flight
testing is virtual.
Tacit recognition of this can be found in Advisory
Circular 20-146A, a document that the FAA put out in
2018 which offers guidance for certifying seats using
computer modelling.
“The circular allows OEMs who are certifying
aircraft to use simulations to identify worst case
scenarios and then run physical tests on those worst
cases. Whereas in the past they were required to run
tests for multiple conditions,” says Olivares. \\
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 Metrology
Splash
// ROB COPPINGER
down
Design, testing and manufacturing is
increasingly done in the digital realm, but
recreating the nightmare situation of ditching
an aircraft in water still requires physical tests
he rare event of an aircraft ditching
caught the headlines in January 2009
when US Airways Flight 1549
successfully belly landed in New York
City’s Hudson river after a bird strike stopped both
engines. Aircraft have long been tested for ditching and
the techniques and technology used in the process
continue to evolve.
In March 2020, six months later than expected, an
EU project to advance the simulation and testing of
aircraft ditching will come to an end. The €6.5 million
(US$72 million) SARAH project (increased safety and
robust certification for ditching of aircraft and
helicopters) is aiming to improve the safety of ditching
for fixed wing aircraft and rotorcraft. There is a link
between the infamous ditching event of January 2009
32 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
and the research project. “The event is
part of the motivation for this project,”
says Stephan Adden, CEO of the SARAH’s
coordinating company, Hamburg-based
IBK Innovation.
Ditching is part of an aircraft’s
certification. Regulatory authorities need
to be satisfied that after ditching an
aircraft will remain intact and afloat,
that passengers and crew can escape and
that the manoeuvre is unlikely to cause
injuries. SARAH has another link to the
Hudson river ditching, the US Airways
aircraft was an Airbus A320. “Airbus is
also part of the project and we have a
strong connection to Airbus for 15 years,
 Metrology

// The Airbus A320neo

during a flooded test,
conducted as part of its
certification campaign

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 33

 Metrology
“The technical problem
is so complex because
it is multidisciplinary”
1 // US Airways
Flight 1549 is lifted
out of the Hudson
1 after its now famous
ditching in 2009
including activities on ditching and numerical
simulation,” Adden says.
VIRTUAL COMPLEXITY
SARAH used two test centres, one in Italy and one in
France. Testing in Italy included several campaigns from
June 2018 to June 2019. SARAH’s researchers are focusing
on developing ways to improve the physical and virtual
methods of testing an aircraft’s behavior when it is
ditching. Each phase of the research and testing
examines a different aspect of ditching, including one
looking at high speeds, one examining deformation of
the aircraft and another analyzing variable pitch, the
angle at which the aircraft hits the water.
“One simulation does not tell us anything of value,”
says Adden. “We need different conditions. We normally
have some sort of off-test matrix or simulation matrix we
have to go through.”
A holistic approach to simulation is needed to help
improve the modelling. “We need to be able to do it
without the simulation taking half a year,” he says. “The
technical problem is so complex, because it’s
multidisciplinary, that if we look at high-fidelity
simulations, we still need to have four to six weeks of
testing to validate one simulation.”
Test equipment was upgraded for SARAH to measure
more data when the model specimen hits the water. “It’s
the first time that we have tested double curvature
specimens,” says Adden. A double curvature specimen is
a model that is identical with the fuselage when it hits
34 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
the water. All models are scale-models of aircraft,
although the models are all of a similar size so they are
appropriate for the water tank being used. The scale
model’s results can be extrapolated mathematically for
the full-size aircraft.
PHYSICAL MODELS
Airbus is a participant in the SARAH project and the
work in France saw helicopter models tested with and
without mock emergency flotation systems. Airbus
Helicopters stress engineer, Severin Halbout, explains
what was measured in ditch tests: “We are focused on
the impact phase and the loads that might happen
during the impact. We chose at the beginning to have as
a helicopter reference the Super Puma.”
However, the test model became a generic design
because it is an EU research program and the results of
which are made public. “The design is a generic shape
and it is the heart of our work for the rotorcraft. The
mock-up has a scale of one-third,” Halbout adds.
Ditch testing for certification of commercial
passenger aircraft takes a different approach to the
models. For certification they are built by craftsmen to
be almost identical to the final design of the aircraft.
Aerospace testing services provider Element conducts
ditch testing of aircraft models in a water tank in the UK
with civil engineering firm, H.R. Wallingford.
“We do the physical part, not the virtual testing. Just
last year we completed ditch testing of the C919 for
Comac in China,” says Element Materials Technology US
aerospace product qualifications testing operations
director, Stuart Brown.
Inside those physical models, sensors collect data to
ensure the testing is reliable. “We’ve got a microsystem
inside the model similar to that which is used in crash
test dummies,” says Brown.
“It’s a small data acquisition system that sits
inside the plane and captures all the data.”
2 // The partial
After the model has ditched, it is structures of aircraft
can be investigated as
part of ditch testing
2
 Metrology

“Synchronizing correctly the instant you

release the mock-up and targeting the impact
to a specific zone of the wave is difficult”
3

retrieved and a small hatch opened for it to be connected

to a data logging system. 3m long
Typical length of a test
says Brown. A head sea is a
mass of waves coming directly
at the front of the aircraft.
3 // Pressure and
load sensors
provide data for
analysis by
WAVES ON REPEAT rig for ditch testing Targeting a specific zone of the engineers during a
Ditch testing typically involves around 125 runs into the wave for the model to impact is ditch test
tank. Engineers are normally most interested in the
acceleration of the model before it hits the water, but
testing does assume a controlled landing on water. The
2.5m long
Maximum size of a
something that Airbus Helicopters also
deems necessary. There is no
fundamental difference between fixed
number of runs, how the model is expected to accelerate model for ditch testing wing and rotorcraft testing, they both
and its angle to the water are specified by the aircraft’s need to know the forces acting on the
designers and determine what needs to be measured. A
test plan will state how many runs are needed and what
types of setups will be carried out, for different angles of
60
Channels of data for
fuselage on impact, depending on how
that impact occurs. Halbout says,
“Synchronizing correctly the instant you
attack, for example. Airbus Helicopters’ release the mock-up from the top of the
Most of the runs that can be conducted will be in ditch testing of flotation launcher and targeting the impact to a
simulated calm water conditions. This helps engineers systems specific zone of the wave is difficult.”
work out how to alter the setup for the model drop and The attitude of the model to the wave
to understand how the results change. Then the waves on impact also needs to be adjustable with trim and yaw
can be introduced. “We’re looking at how the model variations for fixed wing aircraft.
reacts when we’re landing it on the trough of the wave, To control the path of the model to the wave, the
on the face, on the rear of the wave, and on the peak of aircraft can be fixed to a trolley on rails and accelerated
the wave. The very final test is we ditch into head seas,” as the trolley travels. The model is thrown off at the end

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 35

 Metrology

of the rails and its arc to the
water is carefully calculated.
Another method is an over
arching rig that controls the
model’s descent and impact.
Airbus mock-ups, Halbout says,
can be up to 3m long and weigh up
to 300kg.
The European manufacturer uses
cameras to capture the models’
performance, including for the SARAH
research project. “The model’s trajectory
was followed by a high-speed camera
system. We also had other cameras to
provide other fields of view. In total there
were seven cameras,” says Halbout.
4 // CN235-300
ditch testing using
a scale model and amount of data is large and growing for projects like
wave tank SARAH and companies like Element. “The big change for
us is in the last ten years has been data acquisition,” says
Brown. “We capture, record data and then use small
logging systems to retrieve the onboard data.”
The data logging systems have allowed the number of
runs to be reduced because of the increased quality of the
data captured with each run, he adds.
The core methods for ditch testing are not changing
in the immediate future, even though radical aircraft
“The blended wing body aircraft
model was found to skip across

DATA INCREASES
the water like a flat stone”
The SARAH tests involving Airbus included
emergency flotation systems. Pressure sensors
were built into the model’s inflatable floats and
there was a load sensor under the bottom of its
fuselage. There were also load sensors placed
between the floats and the fuselage and inertia
sensors inside the mock-up. Different flotation
systems were designed and tested. Halbout says, “It
was more than 50 or 60 channels to record with
different frequencies. We also did experiments with only
the fuselage,” Halbout adds. More than 200 tests were
performed with the water calm or with different wave
states. “Other parameters we varied was the nature of
the flotation system. We performed the impact with
rigid floats and inflated floats.”
According to Adden, fixed-wing aircraft have a
special way of coping with challenging sea states:
“They cover them by having very
conservative approach conditions for
the speed, the rate of descent and a
stable attitude.”
Helicopters are different because
the stability of the helicopter is more
important. Helicopters will capsize in
water without a flotation system and
so there is no benefit in the helicopter
fuselage staying intact.
Ditch tests feature multiple
high-speed cameras, sensors inside the
models and on flotation systems. The
designs will be tested with them – SARAH also tested
blended wing model (BWB) designs. BWB airliners
promise dramatic reductions in fuel consumption. The
SARAH work sought to understand how these broader
fuselages coped with a ditch impact. “We also looked at
unconventional configurations to understand if our
current ditching simulation capabilities, which include a
lot of knowledge and a lot of engineering judgments
work,” says Adden. The BWB was found to skip across
the water like a flat stone, unlike the traditional tubular
5 // Scenarios aircraft which lands once.
considered by the For decades now, what has been understood about
SARAH project have ditching is that with a controlled approach an aircraft
included helicopters can belly land, like in the Hudson River event, stay intact
with rigid floats and its passengers and crew escape. What would help the
that inflate if the
industry is to understand how a testing process that can
aircraft ditches
reach that conclusion confidently can be
achieved without the expensive long test
lead times and physical tank work.
SARAH is a step towards that and
moves a costly part of the aircraft
certification process into the virtual world.
High speed cameras, modern
instrumentation and data acquisition
systems have also increased the quantity
and quality of data. With the use of this
data, simulation may increasingly provide
a real alternative for physically testing
5 such a rare event as ditching. \\

36 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM

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Queen B
Weapons testing
// PAUL EDEN

// QinetiQ Target Systems

offers a variety of Banshee
options. These Banshee Jet
80s were aboard a Dutch
38 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM vessel in 2017 (Photo: QTS)
n Bee&
Weapons testing

Rattler
Remotely-controlled aircraft have provided targets
for weapons trials since the 1950s. Today’s
weapons manufacturers and militaries employ a
variety of aerial, land and surface targets in trials

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 39

 Weapons testing
J une 26 1935, a de Havilland
DH.82B Queen Bee lifts off
at Farnborough, UK in the
first demonstration of the
type’s remote-control system. Flown via
push buttons on a specially designed
panel, the aircraft maneuvers around the
airfield before returning to land on its
wheeled undercarriage.
Designed and built as a practice tool
for anti-aircraft gunners, the Queen Bee
paved the way for similar conversions of
existing, usually surplus military aircraft
and the post-war development of more
specialized ‘drones’ for military training
or trials. Capability, performance and
cost, bearing in mind success is most
often measured in the craft’s own
destruction, have always driven the
production of remotely controlled targets.
Latterly, as guidance systems moved from
air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles into
precise air-to-ground munitions, the
requirements of aircraft weapons trials
and for target drones changed.
Laser and electro-optically guided air-
to-ground weapons appeared
operationally during the 1960s and had
matured by the time of the 1991 Gulf War.
Subsequently, a new breed of weapon
emerged, capable of engaging
maneuvering surface targets moving at
speed. Proving such systems has brought
dedicated land and surface vehicles into
the aerospace testing remit.
GLOBAL REQUIREMENTS
In 2016, Meggitt Aerospace sold its Target
Systems business to QinetiQ in a £57.5
million (US$75 million) deal. QinetiQ
Target Systems (QTS) offers aerial, land
and surface (maritime) targets and has
continued to invest in new capabilities
and systems. It supplies its products off
the shelf or within a bespoke service for
individual trials.
Jules Werner, business development
manager, QinetiQ Target Systems, says,
“Customers come to us with a set of
requirements. We work to understand
40 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
“We often send teams and
equipment to overseas
locations and currently
operate in more than
40 countries”
exactly what they’re trying to achieve,
then our field services people pack
everything together. It’s like a Formula 1
team, with all the equipment and
control systems deployed in a 1 // The DC-130 was
series of trucks. modified to launch target
“Typically, we deploy a five- drones, in this case the
or eight-person team, BQM-34S Firebee (Photo:
depending on the PHCS RL Lawson/US Navy)
requirements and number of 2 // The QTS Hammerhead
targets. We often send teams USV-T may be operated in
swarms of up to 40 targets 2
and equipment to overseas
locations and currently operate in (Photo: QTS)
more than 40 countries.
“At the end of the trial, we de-rig,
load the equipment back in the trucks
and ship it back to our facilities. The SURFACE TARGETS
customer receives a set of results and has A variety of Unmanned Surface Vehicle-
the opportunity to witness whatever Targets (USV-T) options is available for
aspect of the trial they need to see.” engagement by naval, vehicle and other
Fundamentally, there is no difference military systems, and from the air. And
between flying a drone as a target for while it is perhaps more relevant to
weapons practice compared to flying for military training exercises, QTS has the
training purposes, but Werner says QTS ability to operate multiple surface targets
always listens carefully to its customers’ – as many as 40 simultaneously.
requirements. “We might do a series of Surface targets may be engaged from
tracking runs if that is what is needed. the air, providing a more serious
Sometimes the trial calls for the target’s challenge for missiles that are designed
destruction, sometimes it doesn’t, but we to track and destroy fast-moving vehicles.
always consider that a target has a Interestingly, the naval targets are also
working lifetime, is built to a certain cost offered for trials of weapons designed for
and isn’t designed to be used for many use against land targets. “We can
years,” he says. simulate a fast-moving land target at sea,
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 Weapons testing
3 // Now on the UK civil
register, the last surviving
Queen Bee operates with a
wheeled undercarriage
TARGET DRONES: A BRIEF HISTORY
De Havilland’s Queen Bee was among the first
remotely-controlled aerial targets, albeit designed for
testing the accuracy of anti-aircraft gunners rather than
the weapons themselves. The aircraft combined the wings
and other components of the Tiger Moth trainer with
the fuselage of the DH.60 Moth, creating a cheap and
relatively light machine. Live sorties always began with a
catapult launch, usually from a ship, since firing took place
over the sea. Should the little biplane survive, it alighted
on twin floats to be used again. Some 380 were built, plus
seven modified from unfortunate Tiger Moths.
With the late/post-war development of missile systems
came the requirement for experimental targets and
these were initially met by the modification of surplus
military aircraft. With reducing stocks and increasingly
sophisticated trials requirements, the need arose for
specially designed targets, offering improved and varied
performance, while remaining cost effective.
Among the best known of this new breed of aircraft, the
Jindivik emerged during the 1950s and served Australian,
UK and other weapons programs for many years. Powered
by a Viper turbojet, its various models could reach almost
600mph and in excess of 50,000ft.
In the USA, Ryan produced the BQM-34 Firebee, a
higher-performing aircraft than the Jindivik that also
emerged during the 1950s and remains in service today.
Both aircraft served on trials programs and as gunnery
targets. Since the 1960s, Northrop has also enjoyed
success with its BQM-74 series.
Both the UK and USA have widely employed the
ubiquitous AQM-37 series of rocket-powered, supersonic
drones initially produced by Beech. Capable of Mach 4,
the aircraft has a ceiling in the region of 100,000ft.
Elsewhere, aerial target development has followed
similar lines, typically producing catapult-launched
aircraft capable of maneuvering and carrying payloads for
individual trials requirements and data recording.
4 // This BQM-34A Firebee I
was supporting US Pacific
Air Force Command
operations in 1984 (Photo:
SSGT Daniel Perez/USAF)
4
42 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
which may help avoid the complications
of carrying out such trials on land,”
Werner says.
Like its range of aerial targets, QTS
designs and builds its surface targets
rather than modifying existing vehicles.
Targets are also equipped to employ
additional features, such as jamming,
augmented radar signature and
configurable electromagnetic emissions.
“Since we’re simulating a threat, the
target also needs to maneuver like the
threat system. Operators at the target
control station might ,with an aerial
target for example, maneuver it in an
attempt to defeat the weapons system
under test,” Werner says.
“For an aerial target we’ll establish
exactly what type of profile the customer
wants the target to fly, then one of our
pilots will control it, knowing all the time
where it is. The process is very similar for
a surface target.”
The target operating crew always
remains in contact with the customer
3
throughout. This means if a technical
issue arises with the target or a test point
is missed, arranging a repeat run is
relatively simple.
With more complex systems, there is
a higher chance of a technical glitch. The
test can also be modified while out in
the field. Werner says, “For example,
when we’re working with a ship, a
sensor might fail and the customer will
ask us to change the target’s tracking or
behavior. We’re so close to the customer
we can adapt the profile even during a
firing run.”
AERIAL TARGETS
The aerial targets QTS produces may be
launched from land or sea, offering
considerable flexibility in settling
customer requirements. In the case of
Rattler, aerial launch is another
possibility. Overseas trials occasionally
present difficulties in terms of locating
and securing suitable operating areas,
and the ability to move a trial from one
place to another, with viable launch
options, is a great facilitator.
Meggitt developed the Banshee target,
which QTS continues to offer and develop
as its smallest aerial target, or UAV-T. The
basic propeller driven model is joined by a
selection of jet-powered derivatives,
offering higher speeds, but also
generating the IR signature associated
with a jet. They may be equipped with the
company’s Hot Nose system, capable of
generating a 360° IR signature. “This year
we launched the Banshee Next
Generation, a high-performance target,
but we also have the Rattler, which is
supersonic. We look ahead and speak
with our customers to define the threats
of the future.
“We’re always conscious of cost. A
system costing £3 million [US$4 million]
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 Weapons testing

“In the future customers will want faster, more

maneuverable targets with low radar cross section”
per ‘kill’ would be unaffordable so we look
carefully at the prices customers might be
willing to pay.”
AN INCREASING CHALLENGE
The requirement for creating technology
that will challenge a high-tech weapons
system and generate data in the process,
combined with the need to create a
replaceable, essentially throw-away target,
is particularly challenging.
Customers typically use targets to
prove manufacturer’s claims for a
weapons system and QTS equips them
accordingly. Equipment fit, data collection
and data transmission will vary
depending on range facilities and much of
the technology is sensitive.
Werner says, “We put sensors and
recording equipment onto targets and
customers have their own too, often
recording data during flight. They’ll want
to know what happened when the
weapon hit and what happened
beforehand. If it didn’t hit, they’ll want to
know why. They’ll also assess how close
the weapon came and we can install
equipment that will tell them that.
Customers look for similar data from
surface and land targets too.”
As weapons systems evolve, so do the
requirements QTS’s customers place on
the targets. Werner says, “We’ve seen
fast-moving patrol craft become a threat,
for example, and developed Hammerhead
to simulate them.
“In the future customers will want
faster, more maneuverable targets with
low radar cross section, capable of
simulating fast-moving missiles that
might threaten shipping from
land or air.”
In its Rattler ground/air-
launched supersonic target
QTS has a versatile target
capable of exceeding Mach 2.0.
Much of its flexibility comes
from distinct launch profiles,
either from land/ship, or beneath
a Banshee Jet 80. In the latter case,
the Banshee may assume the role of a
missile-firing aircraft, releasing the
Rattler at stand-off range against a ship to
simulate a supersonic weapon, then
turning away. Depending on the scenario,
the result could set the defenders the
double challenge of defeating the Rattler
and preventing the Banshee escaping to
return another day.
It’s a complex target system that QTS
invested in after talking closely with its
customers. That policy echoes through
the company’s offering, which Werner
says also benefits from the resources of
the wider QinetiQ organization.
The result is not only an essential
trials and training tool kit, but
5// The Barracuda USV-T is also a fully deployable trials
powered so it can tow support organization. \\
multiple targets
(Photo: QTS)
6// Among the latest QTS
products, Rattler’s ground 5
launch capability was
added in 2018
(Photo: QTS)

PREFIXED FOR REMOTE CONTROL

The US military has and continues to make use of
full-size targets created by adding remote control
systems to surplus aircraft that generally retain an
optionally piloted capability. Modified aircraft gain the
designator prefix ‘Q’, as in the contemporary QF-16.
Where control was historically from an airborne platform,
or that platform launched smaller targets, then the ‘D’
prefix for ‘drone controller’ was added after modification
– DC-130 is an example.
Early Sparrow missile trials expended remotely-
controlled F6F Hellcat and even QB-17 Flying Fortress
drones, while subsequent conversions included the
QB-47, QF-106 and QF-4, predecessor to the QF-16.
In the UK, the urgent need to prove indigenous
missile capabilities led to the conversion of Fairey Firefly
airframes to U.Mk 9 configuration as a stop-gap while
the Jindivik was in development. Later, 200 Meteor jet
fighters were modified as U.Mk 15 and U.Mk 16 airframes,
while a similar program in Australia produced the U.Mk
21. An attempt to produce a much higher performance
target, through the modification of three Sea Vixen naval
fighters to D.Mk 3 standard, was abandoned.

44 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM

 Structural testing
// FRANK MILLARD
Cosmic
3D printers and robots offer a way to remotely build
structures such as space stations and satellites in
orbit, but first they have to be tested on Earth
n space manufacturing,
where 3D printers and robots
construct large structures
and parts while in orbit, is
being touted by a number of companies
and experts as the way to work around
expensive and technically challenging
rocket launches.
Made In Space is one of the
proponents of this new way to tackle and
commercialize humanity’s final frontier.
The company’s president and CEO,
Andrew Rush, asserts that in-space
manufacturing (iSM) is not a future
aspiration, but a reality today. On board
the International Space Station (ISS)
astronauts are exploring manufacturing
methods and testing hardware.
Rush says, “We pioneered
manufacturing in space with NASA in
2014 with the Zero Gravity Printer. Since
then we have developed and operated an
additive manufacturing facility in space
and made advances to robotically
46 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
manufacture and assemble space
optimized structures in space.”
Despite Rush’s claim, iSM can trace its
beginnings back to 1973, when a
feasibility study for in-space construction
was conducted on the Skylab space
station. Engineers have always been
attracted to in-space manufacturing’s key
benefit. “One of the advantages of
in-space manufacturing and assembly is
that it allows you to overcome the
tyranny of the launch fairing. You can
deploy structures to orbit that are larger
than you can pack inside of a rocket and
launch from Earth,” explains Rush.
ARCHINAUT ONE
In July 2019, NASA awarded US$73.7
million to Made In Space to demonstrate
the manufacture and assembly of
spacecraft components in low-Earth orbit.
Archinaut One is expected to launch on a
Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New
Zealand in 2022. The mission will focus
 Structural testing

© dottedyeti - stock.adobe.com AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 47

 Structural testing

“You can deploy

structures to
orbit that are
larger than you
can pack inside
of a rocket”
1 // An Archinaut
manufacturing and
assembly unit enters the
Thermal Vacuum Chamber
(TVAC) at Northrop
1 Grumman’s facility in
Redondo Beach, California.
The TVAC simulates the
on deploying a satellite power system to thermal and pressure
orbit. Other near-term applications for environment of a Low
Archinaut might include antennas, Earth Orbit.
space-based telescopes and large space- 2 // The Made in Space
2
based reflectors. “We’re leaning on our Recycler uses polymer
existing experience with manufacturing materials to produce
in space and we’re really pushing the arrays over time, since there is a desire for long-term use filament that is transferred
to a 3D printer and could
boundaries of what’s possible,” says Rush. of in-space manufactured structures,” says Charles
be used on deep space
Archinaut One will use a robotic arm Adams, senior subject matter expert systems engineering missions (Photo: Made
and their Extended Structure Additive at NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program. In Space)
Manufacturing Machine (ESAMM) to
3 // A Northrop Grumman
autonomously and precisely place LARGE-SCALE STRUCTURES Antares rocket, with
components and 3D print two 10m beams, To experts such as Adams and his colleague at NASA, Cygnus resupply spacecraft
which will deploy two solar arrays while Lawrence Huebner, iSM has the potential to have a onboard, launches from
the beams are being manufactured. profound impact on space. It could enable the remote, Pad-0A of NASA’s Wallops
“If successful, this has the ability to in-space construction of communications antennae, Flight Facility in Virginia
significantly increase the power capability large-scale space telescopes and other complex structures (Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
of existing equivalently-sized spacecraft. as well as be used to deploy large surface area power
Once the arrays are deployed, we are systems and reflectors for small satellites. As well as
interested in the health of the beams and eliminating the volume limits imposed by rockets, it

THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL TEST PLATFORM

The International Space Station (ISS)
provides the best opportunity for engineers
to test manufacturing methods and
hardware in orbit.
Aerospace company Tethers Unlimited is
testing the Refabricator on the ISS, which
recycles plastic for use in manufacturing.
The Refabricator will demonstrate plastic
recycling and 3D printing capabilities for
use in long-duration manned missions.
The company is also working on several
in-space manufacturing technologies
for metal parts. Dr Robert Hoyt, Tethers
Unlimited co-founder says, “We’re working
with NASA’s In Space Manufacturing
Program under a public/private partnership
to develop a FabLab capable of precision
manufacturing mission-critical parts. That
effort is in the first phase of a planned three
phase effort leading to a flight test.”
“We are operating the ‘Refabricator’
payload to demonstrate sustainable
manufacturing and recycling on the ISS,”
says Hoyt. “These early capabilities involve
plastic materials for simple items like
utensils and storage containers. We are
working to extend the range of polymeric
materials that can be recycled and printed,
with a focus on enabling on-demand
manufacturing of food-contact and
medical-safe items.”
The vision for Made In Space is to
develop the technology and infrastructure
for humanity to sustainably live and work in
space, says Rush. “In-space manufacturing
and assembly capabilities have the potential
to transform the way we utilize space and
driving that capability forward is at the core
of our mission.”

48 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM


avoids the inherent risk of spacewalks by performing
some tasks currently completed by astronauts.
The European Space Agency (ESA) also considers iSM
a potential “strong enabler” for a wide range of space
activities, such as long-term exploration missions,
enhancement of telecommunication, Earth observation
and navigation satellite capabilities.
In recent years, the ESA has made studies on the
subject of in-situ manufacturing and construction using
local resources, to support sustainable exploration.
Dr Advenit Makaya, advanced manufacturing engineer
at the ESA says, “The ESA’s Clean Space initiative has
recently launched studies in orbital Manufacturing
Assembly and Recycling, looking at the system-level
implications of such capability on the design of satellites.”
In November the ‘recycler’ was launched on board a
Antares rocket heading for the International Space
Station. The device, developed by Made In Space, turns
plastic waste and 3D printed objects into feedstock that
serves as the raw material for the
company’s Additive Manufacturing
Facility on the space station.
ON AND OFF-GROUND TESTING
Within the Archinaut program, its
various systems have undergone extensive
testing in a thermal vacuum chamber
that simulates the harsh operational
environment of space. Rush says, “We
successfully demonstrated Archinaut’s
additive manufacturing and robotically
assembly capabilities within a thermal
vacuum chamber in 2018. We have also
validated the manufacturing technologies
on the ISS.”
Made In Space’s ESAMM was tested in
a vacuum chamber in the Engineering
Evaluation Laboratory at NASA’s Ames
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019
Structural testing
3
Research Center in Moffett Field,
California. Large beam segments were 3D
printed and all the components subjected
to pressures and temperatures equivalent
to deep space. Additional tests will take
place to ready Archinaut One for its flight
demonstration. Testing in space is the
next step to validate the technologies for
future mission use.
Aerospace firm Tethers Unlimited
uses float tables, platforms that float
using air jets above flat granite tables, to
test robotics and other elements in 2D
simulated zero-g. The company’s
engineers also use vacuum chambers to
test the impacts of operation in vacuum.
Dr Robert Hoyt, Tethers Unlimited’s
co-founder says, “Prior to launch we run
hardware through exhaustive
49
 Structural testing
4 // Archinaut One will be
launched in 2022 to test its
robotic additive space
construction technology
environmental testing, which can include
vibration, shock and thermal testing.
“These laboratory tests can evaluate
the impacts of one or two elements of the
space environment, but to test them all
together we really need to fly
experiments in space,” he explains.
Most aspects of system functionality
can be tested individually on the ground
except those dominated by gravity effects.
The effects of gravity on manufacturing
processes can be studied in microgravity
testing, either on parabolic flight aircraft
or suborbital rockets such as Blue Origin’s
New Shepherd.
ZERO TO HERO
There are several ways zero-gravity can
affect manufacturing processes. “Where
thermal behavior is important, the lack of
convection in a microgravity environment
can dramatically change the temperature
at which components operate,” says Hoyt.
“That is difficult to recreate on the
ground but can be approximated with
insulation or operation in vacuum.”
The forces on mechanical parts can
also be much lower without gravity.
Gravity offloading rigs that use
suspension lines to support robotic arms
or other mechanisms can be used to
approximate that effect.
Micro-gravity has effects on motion
dynamics and control. Professor Kazuya
Yoshida from the Department of
Aerospace Engineering at Tohoku
University specializes in space robotics
and the dynamics and controls of space
50 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
SPACE TRIALS
Professor Kazuya Yoshida
from the Department of
Aerospace Engineering at
Tohoku University in Japan
believes that there are two
main approaches suitable for
systems. He explains. Testing on robots heading for zero testing robots destined for
gravity environments is usually done using air-floating use in space:
testbeds, in a free-fall capsule dropped from a high “One is a common
altitude or in an aircraft during a parabolic flight. procedure for all space
There are also vacuum effects on heat transfer to flight systems, including
consider. In the atmosphere, heat can be transferred by mechanical vibration tests
conduction, radiation and convection. “In the vacuum using shaker tables that can
environment, convection is not available, so the thermal emulate the mechanical and
design of the systems becomes difficult. The vacuum acoustic-induced vibrations
also makes the lubrication of the joints and sliding from the rocket engines
elements difficult.” during the lift-off, thermal-
vacuum tests and tests for
TESTING CHALLENGES radioactive tolerance using
Hoyt believes that there is a lot of work to be done to a radioactive source such as
ensure manufacturing technologies meet the Cobalt 60 isotope.
requirements of long-duration manned missions. “For “The other type is more
applications on the ISS and proposed Lunar Gateway, the specific. For in-orbit
iSM tools will need to meet very strict requirements for operations, a microgravity
astronaut safety, fit within the power, mass, thermal, and environment has a substantial
volume constraints of the ISS Express Rack payload influence on the motion
systems and achieve the verifiable precision and build dynamics and control,
quality needed for mission-critical parts,” he says. therefore its testing is
For metallic parts, heat-treatment is often needed to important, but it is not easy to
achieve the desired material characteristics. However, emulate the microgravity on
ways of performing heat treatments in a microgravity the ground.
environment in a manner that is safe for astronauts “One idea is to use an
remains a large technology gap. air floating testbed on a 2D
For manufacturing large structures for spacecraft plane, and the other one is to
systems, the development of robotic manufacturing and use a free-fall capsule or an
assembly systems and their autonomous control airplane in a parabolic flight.
software – especially those that needed to diagnose and “As for lunar/planetary
resolve anomalous behavior as they operate, pose a rovers, locomotion and
significant challenge. navigation testing in analog
“Previous and ongoing activities have highlighted the sites – outdoor field tests, are
technology gaps, which include validation of the crucial. To develop a space
developed processes in the relevant environment,” says robotics system, we need to
Makaya. “They are being identified to help define future consider all these things.”
activities on the topic.” \\
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 Communications & IT
// PAUL WILLIS

Revolution The way pilots, air traffic controllers and others involved in aviation talk is changing thanks
to the development of international standards and a push from component manufacturers

52 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM


he principal protocol for online
communications is Internet Protocol.
This set of rules is foundational in
how the internet works. But despite
its widespread use throughout the world, until recently
IP has played little part in communications within the
aviation sector.
Recently there has been a push at the international
level to migrate air traffic communications to an Internet
Protocol (IP)-based system, referred to generally as the
Internet Protocol Suite (IPS).
The drive for change came initially from ICAO but
more recently has been spearheaded by the standards
Communications & IT
agencies for aviation technology, most notably the
European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment
(EUROCAE) and the Airlines Electronic Engineering
Committee (AEEC).
Migrating to IPS is a central component of the larger
scale project of modernizing air traffic management
(ATM), which is being undertaken in Europe under the
EU’s Single European Sky joint project known as SESAR
and in the USA under the FAA’s NextGen program.
Eurocontrol, which oversees ATM within the EU,
underlined its commitment to IPS in a report released in
April in which it called for “a strong internet protocol
backbone in order to support connectivity.”
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 53
 Communications & IT
“The aviation industry as a whole has seen the value
of IP-based communications in other parts of their
business,” says Dan Pendergast, senior marketing
director for commercial aviation and network services at
Collins Aerospace. “There are advantages to IP. It’s
universally supported by all kinds of operating systems,
the networks are mature and global. It’s becoming the
norm everywhere.”
MIGRATION ROADMAP
It is being envisaged that IPS will support air-ground
communication, specifically data link. Also known as
controller-pilot data link (CPDL), this messaging service
between aircraft and air traffic controllers, first
developed in the 1970s is a way to provide an alternative
to voice communications.
Currently data link communications for long-haul
oceanic routes rely on satellite communications and
most use the FANS (Future Air Navigation System). This
system was developed by Boeing and Airbus. This uses a
messaging system known as the Aircraft
Communication and Reporting System (ACARS). Within
Europe, Eurocontrol’s data link service operates using
54 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
“Aviation has seen the value
of IP-based communications in
other parts of their business”
Dan Pendergast, senior marketing director for commercial aviation and network services at Collins Aerospace
the VDL Mode 2 network, which was developed from an
ICAO standard.
“For air to ground we have a roadmap in conjunction
with the USA for the migration to ATN IPS protocol post-
VDL mode 2,” says Jacky Pouzet, head of the
communication and frequency coordination unit at
Eurocontrol. “We don’t see any advantage to switching
from the current protocol when it comes to the current
VDL-2 technology.”
The current protocol used in ATM is called
Open Systems Interconnection (OSI), an open standard
that was developed 30 years ago as a competitor to IP.
Although OSI was abandoned by the IT industry in the
early 1990s, the standard is still used in aviation. The
shift away from OSI and VDL Mode 2 will embrace three
new data link technologies - LDACS,
SATCOM and AeroMACS.
AeroMACS will be mainly used for
airport communication, says Pouzet, who
compares it to a wifi network but
“operating in an aviation protected
spectrum”. He says, “It’s already partially
deployed in the USA and there is some
partial deployments in Europe, for
instance in Portugal.”
The first of the air-ground
communications to come online will be
the SATCOM systems, says Pouzet. After
that will be LDACS or the L-band Digital
Aeronautical Communication System,
 Communications & IT

1 // Communications in ATM is
shifting away from the Open
Systems Interconnection and
VDL Mode 2 standards to use
three technologies, Satcom,
LDAC and AeroMACS

AIR TRAFFIC COMMUNICATION authorities that have migrated to the

which is being developed by SESAR and is based on
4G and 5G and is the most advanced of the three
new technologies.
The three technologies will combine to provide
what’s known as the Future Communications
Infrastructure (FCI), complementing each other to ensure
smooth and efficient communications in aviation.
“We’re foreseeing that in the future there will be a
mix of communications,” says Pouzet. “On board aircraft
there will be VHF/analogue for voice communications.
There will also be VDL mode 2 because it’s already
mandated. We also expect to have SATCOM and LDACS.
“So there will be at least three different
communication links operating in different frequency
bands potentially with different protocols to make sure
we are providing the appropriate level of availability and
redundancy that is required by aviation.”
CREATING CONSISTENCY
This mix of communication systems also reflects the fact
that adoption of IPS around the world is very likely to be
inconsistent, says Pendergast.
“Change in aviation typically moves slowly,” he says.
“Airlines are going to have a mix of aircraft, some new
and some old. Aircraft still operating with legacy
systems have to be able to communicate with aviation
FUNDAMENTALS
The arrival of Voice over Internet Protocol
(VOIP) to , an internet-based voice
communication, seems at first glance to
be disruptive to existing legacy systems.
However, VOIP only impacts ground-ground
communication. “Controller to controller
communication and controller to the
ground radio station will be affected by
this technological change. VOIP ground
radio stations will continue to use legacy
technology to communicate to the pilots via
the mobile link,” says Eurocontrol’s
Liviu Popescu.
When a controller talks into a voice switch
the communication is sent via fiber optics to
a remote site, where it is converted to radio
waves and transmitted up to the plane via
the existing analogue system.
Dieter Thigpen, air-ground voice
communications manager at the FAA says,
“The ED-137 standard is dealing with the
on-the-ground protocol for a voice switch
to talk to a voice switch, a voice switch to
talk to a recorder, a voice switch to talk to a
radio or to a remote radio node. It’s all on the
ground.”
Thigpen believes the biggest advantage
with VOIP for ATC is the extra bandwidth
and the ability to more easily reconfigure
the system in the event of an outage. “If you
have an ATC tower and a remote site goes
down you can reconfigure and talk to a
different remote site, so you can remain in
communication with the aircraft, because
with an IP-based system each location has
its own address,” he says.
Some ANSPs are already using VOIP,
notably Romania. “They were actually
the first country to put fibre optics in the
ground,” says Thigpen. “They jumped a
generation of technology.”
Popescu says that it is now the right time
beginning to think about the next stage in
the evolution of voice communications –
making air-ground communications fully
digital. “It’s a phase that will come but we
need to see what new IP technologies come
about with the development of ATN IPS data
link,” he says.
IP-based systems.”
While the migration to IPS is
currently being thought of in terms of its
impact on data link communications,
Pendergast believes that the real
advantages of the change are much
broader in scope.
“From an operational standpoint it
will open up all of the possibilities of
IP-based applications used for airline
operations that we currently enjoy for
our personal and business use,” he says.
“Airlines will be able to develop
applications that can optimize how
the aircraft is flying, fuel efficiency
and maintenance.”
Meanwhile, on the ground IP-based
systems will allow for greater situational
awareness, Pendergast believes: “The
latest radar systems have a much higher
ability to send weather data. With IP
capability in aircraft, they can become
flying nodes, capable of receiving weather
data down from other aircraft and
sharing it so that Air Navigation Service
Providers have a much better awareness
of developing weather and turbulence.”
Pendergast envisages applications that
use real time weather data to provide
much quicker re-routing of flight paths
between air traffic controllers and flight
dispatchers in the event of extreme
weather events.
IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES
According to Pouzet there are two key
challenges to implementing IPS: mobility
and security. “For the OSI protocol the
mobility is inherent to the application. In
the context of aviation this means that an
aircraft anywhere on the Earth can
connect to the network,” he says.
IPv4, the most widely used version of
IP, cannot facilitate this level of mobility.
But IPv4’s successor, IPv6 can. For this
reason, ICAO has chosen to base its IPS
systems on IPv6, which now accounts for
about a quarter of all internet traffic.
Perhaps a bigger challenge is
overcoming the security risks in
migrating to a system which is based on a
technology much more widely known,

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 55

 Communications & IT
2 // A FAA-organized event
held earlier this year saw 14
suppliers of VOIP technology
test the interoperability of
their systems
believes senior expert at Eurocontrol,
Liviu Popescu. He says, “OSI was not
widely used, so there is less risk of
hacking. Hackers would first have to
teach themselves the system.
“But IP is the technological layer
supporting all communication in the
world. So, the risk for vulnerabilities to
hacking, at least theoretically, increase.”
In practical terms, the widespread use
of IPS also brings with it advantages, says
Popescu since “there are lots of proven
security solutions that have been
developed to counter the threat”.
“We won’t have to reinvent the wheel,”
he says. “We can benefit from the
solutions already out for other safety or
security critical industries like the
military, banking or energy.”
On top of the conventional cyber
security measures the new
communications technologies will have
an added security layer built in through
operating on a protected frequency.
Pouzet says, “It’s against the law to sell
equipment that can operate on this
frequency for any other use than aviation.
This means you couldn’t connect to this
network with your laptop at the airport
because your computer won’t recognize
the frequency.”
INTRODUCTION TIMELINE
While there are no fixed dates for when
the migration to IPS will take place,
56 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
2
“There will be at least three different
communication links operating in
different frequency bands, potentially
with different protocols”
Jacky Pouzet, head of the communication and frequency coordination unit at Eurocontrol
Eurocontrol predicts that full deployment is unlikely to
take place before 2030. While the time frame for air-
ground communication might seem a long way off it is
important to note that IP-based ground-ground
communication is already well-established in aviation,
for example amongst European ANSPs. “We started the
work on standardization of VOIP ground-ground air
traffic management communications about 15 years ago.
We’re now at the end of the standardization cycle and
we’re starting the deployment,” says Popescu.
A ground-ground data link between European air
traffic controllers known as the ATC Inter-Centre Data
Communication is already 90% migrated to IP, says
Popescu. Meanwhile, IP-based voice communication,
known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), is about
60% migrated.
In the USA, the migration to VOIP is just getting
under way. As part of this migration the FAA held an
interoperability event in May 2019 in Atlantic City, New
Jersey, where 14 vendors from around the world tested
the interoperability of their communications equipment
using the ED-137 standard, a VOIP standard developed
by EUROCAE.
“Over the two weeks we had around 1,400 test cases,
where we paired vendors to see if their products could
operate together,” says Dieter Thigpen, air-ground
voice communications manager at the FAA. “So if you
took a voice switch from one vendor and a recorder from
another they were given some pre-defined test scenarios
that would be run to validate that they could talk to
each other.”
According to Thigpen the event proved a success,
although he acknowledges that the USA still has some
way to go before IP-based communications can be
implemented in aviation. “The event that took place was
looking at the end equipment that hooks to the phone
lines,” says Thigpen. “But we’re getting ready to put out a
Request for Bid on a new telecommunications system
that would then bring the IP core to the FAA. We’re just
getting on that road now because the whole
telecommunications system needs to go IP as well as all
the edge equipment.” \\
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 Testing Talk
// BEN SAMPSON

A Grand
Debut

58 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM

 Testing Talk

Lee Human from aerotec details

the firm’s recent flying engine
testbed deal with Rolls-Royce
and discusses its significance for
the future of engine testing
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 59
 Testing Talk
tarting up a company is something
that many people do every day. But
few company founders get to fulfil
their vision for that company.
Just a week after announcing a major contract win
with Rolls-Royce, Lee Human, AeroTEC’s founder and
president, is an entrepreneur relishing the realization of
his vision for the company. Founded 16 years ago to
supply flight test services with just four employees, the
Seattle, Washington-based firm has grown to have a
200-strong workforce of engineers and technicians. The
company’s clients come from across the world to tap into
its knowledge and capabilities within aerospace
development and testing.
The multi-million Rolls-Royce deal will see AeroTEC
convert a retired Qantas 747-400 into a flying testbed for
the engine manufacturer. Rolls-Royce will use it to test
the next generation of its more powerful, more efficient
1 // The Qantas 747 arrived
at Moses Lake, USA in
October and is now under
AeroTEC’s care, custody
and control
2 // AeroTEC’s Flight Test
Center is being expanded to
facilitate the operation the
Rolls-Royce flying testbed
and more connected engines. Regardless of if AeroTEC
wins the follow-on business to operate the aircraft, the
deal is massive for the company and is enabling
significant expansion at its Moses Lake headquarters.
Human describes the win as validating for the
business: “We have built an organization with all of
these capabilities, from initial preliminary engineering
through to manufacturing, ground testing, taxi-testing,
full-scale flight test to envelope expansion testing. This
program is perfectly aligned with what we are as a
company and we will be able to leverage all of our skills
across it.
The Rolls-Royce job is the first time AeroTEC has
been the prime contractor for a flying testbed program.
The rival company that was in the running at the end of
the tender is one of the biggest companies in the USA.
“We are on the world-stage for this type of aircraft now,”
says Human. “It opens the door to other projects in the
large-scale flying testbed business.”
Only a few other companies in the world have the
type of experience necessary to modify and operate
large passenger aircraft in the way this contract
requires. GE Aviation runs a testbed modified from a
747-400 in Victorville, California and Pratt and Whitney
60 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
runs a modified 747-SP. “This job was out
for tender and we won – technically and
on cost,” Human says triumphantly.
DE-QANTASIZING
The 747, which has been purchased
outright by Rolls-Royce, was delivered to
AeroTEC’s flight test center in Moses
Lake early in October. The first task in
the two-year schedule of work is to
“deQantasize” the aircraft – remove the
livery and insignias of the previous
owner. Engineers are also removing most
of the interior of the aircraft.
Around 80% of the subsequent
changes will be “under the skin” of the
aircraft. Human says, “We will be
installing extensive systems for fuel
management, electrical power systems
and load bank systems that can fully load
the generators on the test engine.
“There will be hydraulic systems so
we can fully test and fully load the
hydraulics on the test engines and
simulate various loads. There will be
instrumentation and monitoring systems
installed on the test engine capable of
making thousands of measurements, as
well as instrumentation and monitoring
on the airframe.
“There will be racks and racks of
engineering work stations in the main
cabin.”
The airplane is going to be a “generic”
test bed – it will use a single data
acquisition system and different engines
will be bolted on at two different points
on the aircraft. On the side of the aircraft
hard points are being installed so
different stub wings, capable of carrying
different business jet-size engines, can be
fitted. Each stub wing will be made
LEE HUMAN CV
AeroTEC’s founder and president is a
graduate of the University of Massachusetts
Amherst College of Engineering. He
has earned credentials as an FAA DER
(designated engineering representative),
and a private multi-engine instrument
pilot’s license. Prior to starting AeroTEC in
2003, Human held the position of flight test
manager at Aviation Partners Boeing (APB),
a joint venture with the Boeing Company.
Prior to APB, he was a lead engineer at
Aircraft Engineering Specialists (AES).
Human has been personally involved in
the testing, engineering, and certification of
over 50 major aerospace projects.
He is married with three children and lives
on Mercer Island, Washington. In his free
time, Lee enjoys boating the waters of Puget
Sound with family and friends.
specifically for each engine – so the
aircraft can test both fuselage-mount or
wing-mount engines for example.
On the underside of one of the wings
more hardpoints are being installed. The
number two engine position is for testing
larger commercial passenger aircraft
engines. “The testbed is designed to be
reconfigurable,” says Human. “GE can
only test engines mounted on the wing,
and Pratt and Whitney can only tests
engines mounted on the side of the
fuselage. We can do both.”
The first application for the testbed
has not been officially announced yet by
Rolls-Royce, but the capability to be
reconfigured will also make the testbed
suitable for other programs, such as Trent
series engines, in the future.
TIME AND MONEY
The 747’s modification work breaks down
to annual sections. The engineering work
to produce the drawings and get it

“The testbed will be the most advanced airborne
data collection and analysis system ever produced”
through preliminary and critical design reviews is
expected to take around a year. The actual
modifications, bringing the systems online and ground
and flight testing then happen the year after. Human is
aware it is a tight schedule.
“Bolting a fifth engine onto an aircraft is not trivial,”
he says. “When you look at the support systems like the
fuel and electrical systems, it’s very complicated to do it
safely. We have to worry about rotor burst, modern
engine control systems that are not native to the 747.
“There are a lot of new things that have to be
integrated. This is not a small airplane and it’s going to
be very challenging.”
A further challenge is the data acquisition system,
which has to be future-proofed to be as advanced as the
engines it is testing. Human says, “These modern Rolls-
Royce engines are extremely data intensive – they are
called the intelligent engine – with terabytes of data
coming off them. The engines being tested will be very
advanced.
“The testbed will be the most advanced airborne data
collection and analysis system ever-produced.”
To meet the demanding schedule and technical
challenges, the company is expanding at Moses Lake
Flight Test Center, where it has already
invested around US$20 million. The
Rolls-Royce deal is enabling further
expansion at the site. “We have already
started building an additional wide-body
70,000ft2 hangar, big enough to house a
777X-10 with the wing tips down. The
hangar will be occupied by September
2020,” says Human.
OTHER BUSINESS
Human is speaking to me about the Rolls-
Royce deal on the company’s busy stand
at the National Business Aviation
Associations annual exhibition. The
company’s presence here is evidence of
the broad mix of business the company
engages in. Most of the work is on Part 25
aircraft, larger business jets. “A lot the
business jet OEMs are customers, as are
the Tier Ones, companies like Rolls-
Royce,” says Human. “There is a lot of
innovation at the business jet sector level,
more so than at the commercial level.”
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019
Testing Talk
AeroTEC’s clients initially approach
the company with a product concept,
which can be at different levels of
maturity. “The first task is to assess if the
product is certifiable. We take it through
verification and validation. We define all
the regulatory, customer, manufacturing
or marketing requirements it needs –
from the aircraft level down to the
component level. We then work out what
evidence is needed to meet those
requirements,” says Human.
A component could for example need
a DO160 quality test or bench test in the
laboratory. An example job at the system
level might mean developing a test rig. At
the aircraft level it could mean flight
testing. As well as test results, evidence
could be in the form of CFD
(Computational Fluid Dynamics) or FEA
(Finite Element Analysis) simulation or
wind tunnel work.
From this information AeroTEC
produces an actionable roadmap to
61
 Testing Talk
3 // AeroTEC’s project with
MagniX is using a Cessna
Caravan to demonstrate and
certify an electric
propulsion system
4 // Aerotec’s Moses Lake
machine shop can make
components when required
by a client 3
“There are a lot of new
things that have to be integrated –
this is not a small airplane and it’s
going to be very challenging”
Israeli company Eviation to help it
develop and test an all-electric aircraft.
5 // Eviation’s Alice Human says a big benefit from
aircraft, seen here at
its launch at 2019’s partnering so close with clients is the
5 knowledge-sharing amongst the
Paris Air Show, is
being built and flight company’s and its client’s engineers that
tested at AeroTEC’s it facilitates.
Moses Lake facility “Every OEM has a different style and
approach. We get to see the strengths and
weaknesses of each and see best practice.
We can then help our customers with our
certification for the product. “That’s best practices,” he says.
where the first surprises may emerge,”
says Human. “It allows us to recognize ELECTRIFICATION
what won’t be certifiable because it As well as Eviation, AeroTEC is working
doesn’t meet this or that requirement. with separately with electric propulsion
We then make recommendations, such as system developer Magnix to develop a
a redesign.” demonstrator and certification platform
A client will then take those for its technology on a Cessna Caravan.
recommendations and act on them or The first prototype of Eviation’s clean
partner with AeroTEC to make the sheet all-electric aircraft, which is called
adaptations to the component or aircraft. Alice, is going through ground testing
“The shop in Moses Lake says if you need and will be ready for taxi testing soon.
it tomorrow, we’ll build it tonight. It The second prototype aircraft is arriving
might just be a new wire harness or in Moses Lake during October, will be
routing for a hydraulic tube, whatever is built there and has its maiden flight
needed to keep the test vehicles flying.” planned to place in 2020.
It’s also common for AeroTEC and its A major theme of the NBAA show
clients to hot desk and work side-by-side. was the growing trend of urban air
For example, at its peak there were more mobility. Hundreds of companies,
than 100 Mitsubishi employees in its including the major OEMs, are now
Seattle offices. The MRJ, renamed the developing electric Vertical Take Off and
SpaceJet, is now in the final stretch of Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. eVTOLs are
testing for certification. The company is being designed to hop across or between
working in a similarly close way with cities and many believe by the middle of
62 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
4
the next decade could represent an entirely new section
of aviation activity.
Human believes the work being done on electric and
hybrid aircraft, like the Eviation and Magnix projects,
has to take place before eVTOLs can become a reality.
“Developing and validating the power systems and flight
control systems is a pre-requisite for the eVTOL,” says
Human. “People underestimate the challenge of the
auxiliary systems to the battery, the power systems, the
controller, the cooling systems.
He adds that other prerequisites are increases in the
energy density of batteries, which he believes will
happen in the next five years. Engineers also need to
develop the integration between flight control and
electric propulsion systems. “The Eviation aircraft will
achieve this integration between thrusters and flight
control. The eVTOL needs this link to exist. Before it can
come into say, Honeywell flight control or BAE flight
control systems, there is this first step that has to be
taken with the control systems.”
AeroTEC began to work towards becoming a leader
in the area of electrification of aircraft around three
years ago, says Human. The work with Eviation and
Magnix is the result of investment in the infrastructure
and engineering skills to support these types of aircraft
as a result. But while speaking at the company’s stand at
the NBAA show the stand has become noticeably busier.
Human is also keen to acknowledge that the company
appreciates and understands its core customers: “We are
here to partner with OEMs and Tier ones to get their
products to certification. New aircraft development
programs tend to get all the attention and resources. It’s
the modification and the customer service teams that
want upgrades that can struggle. We can partner with
them to get that stuff done.” \\
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 RISK MANaGEMENT
// BEN SAMPSON

In the
bala
// The Seraph prototype
was built to test new
technologies and systems for
Vertical Aerospace’s passenger
eVTOL, which the company
plans to reveal next year

64 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM

 RISK MANaGEMENT

ance There are no shortcuts to

safety in aviation – it’s up
to engineers to manage
safety risks, budgets and
schedules, even when
testing new aircraft types
such as eVTOLs

AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 65

 RISK MANaGEMENT

A viation consultancy Roland

Berger counted 170
electrically-propelled aircraft
in development around the
world for a study published last July. By the time you read
this, the consultancy estimates that the tally will have
risen to almost 200.
By far the largest number of these aircraft are electric
vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft – clean
1000kg
Weight of Vertical
Aerospace’s Seraph
eVTOL demonstrator

sheet designs using electric powertrains and propulsion

systems in entirely new ways. The development
programs are taking place mostly in the USA and Europe,
where many startups are beginning to face the reality of
turning CAD drawings into metal and composite that
moves in the sky.
VERTICAL APPROACH
Bristol, UK-based Vertical Aerospace hopes to be one of
the first companies to market with an eVTOL aircraft.
The company plans to complete the testing and
certification of its first aircraft by 2023
and to start services on short, piloted
intercity routes soon after. While it is in
service, Vertical plans to extend the
aircraft’s range and eventually introduce
autonomy to it, while expanding the
number of routes that it can serve.
250kg
Maximum load
The company, which was founded in the Seraph
2016, flew its first proof of concept eVTOL can carry
demonstrator at Cotswold Airport in the
UK in June 2018. Engineers at Vertical
have recently concluded flight testing of
its second full-size prototype, called
Seraph, which weighs 1000kg, can reach speeds of up to
80km/h and carry loads of up to 250kg.
Seraph, which is now undergoing several months of
ground testing, takes design cues from multi-rotor
drones and like many eVTOL aircraft can be described as
an enlarged drone. Seraph completed its first flight test
campaign without any major incidents, thanks in no
small part to Paul Harper, chief certification engineer at
Vertical Aerospace. Harper is responsible for ensuring
the safety of flight testing Seraph and liaising with the
UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). He says, “We started risks. In some cases we are able to design out the risk
as a small group of people tasked with taking drone
technology and scaling it up into a useful aircraft.
“In the early days we were able to use advanced
hobbyist drone kits for testing. We could build cheaply
and quickly and learn from the tests. As we’ve scaled up
into a heavier full-size aircraft with complex flight
systems we have needed to build in redundancy and
functional safety. We had to start looking at possible
failure modes in dynamic situations.”
One of the possible failure scenarios with Seraph, in
common with all other drones and helicopters, is rotor
“you tiptoe out to the
edges of performance.
You progressively get
more challenging to
expand the flight
envelope in a safe way”
failure. The company had to consider
what happens if one or more of
Seraph’s rotors fails. To deal with this
and similar risks, Harper and the rest
of the team at Vertical worked out in
advance of the flight testing program which parts of the
aircraft had a high-risk of failure. The team then worked
to mitigate the risks. Harper describes the process as a
“common-sense approach”.
“Like most aerospace testing, it’s about always doing
things in the least dangerous way. As a company a risk to
life or a risk to people’s property is never acceptable,
so we identify and take measures to mitigate them,”
says Harper.
“We record all of the risks, including the functional
from the testing.”
For example, Seraph has an independent, backup
control system in case there is a loss of control as well as
a “kill switch”.
REGULATORY OVERSIGHT
Outside of hardware-design changes, measures are taken
in accordance with aviation authority rules to ensure
testing is conducted in a safe manner. In the UK,
companies developing experimental aircraft have to meet
certain requirements to qualify as a design organization.
They also have a choice of meeting either
the Civil Aviation Authority’s rules on
testing experimental aircraft, CAP 1220,
or the European Union Aviation Safety
Agency’s Part 201J. “They are very similar
to each other and both are similar to the
FAA’s equivalent rules thanks to
agreements on processes and design
approvals,” says Harper.
“The CAA were very involved up front
with us. They wanted to ensure that we
had the right processes and that we had
considered the risks. Once they were
satisfied we were going to behave they
became less involved,” he says.
Processes and resources that are
required to ensure safety during testing
include the production of a
comprehensive operations manual and
test plan. Everyone involved has to be
adequately qualified. Scenario planning
must be undertaken, and the regulator
has to be satisfied that all safety aspects
have been considered alongside the
high-level risks. Once the testing site has
been located, a survey has to be conducted
which assesses the external risks and that

66 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM


A MASSIVE MARKET
FOR AIR TAXIS?
Vertical Aerospace’s Seraph
eVTOL is an interim step
between the drones it is based
on and the final aircraft. Data
and insights from the test
program will influence the
design of the final aircraft.
The prototype is currently
undergoing systems testing on
the ground during winter.
Vertical Aerospace is one of
dozens of companies around
the world pushing to be first
with a commercial product for
the urban air mobility (UAM)
market. Analysts are predicting
massive growth in the UAM
market over the coming
decade. Most recently in June,
Nexa Advisors and the Vertical
Flight Society published a
report which predicts the UAM
market will be worth US$318
billion over the next 20 years.
Paul Harper, chief
certification engineer for
Vertical Aerospace, believes
his company’s approach
to testing will ensure a
safe final aircraft. He says,
“eVTOL development is like
aviation was in the 1940s
and 1950s. There are a lot of
smart companies all vying for
success. There are so many
varied designs – it’s a really
interesting time.
“But a lot of it will come
down to testing. You can often
tell just by looking at a them
which part of a proposed
design is risky and likely
to fail.”
RISK MANaGEMENT
“We had to start looking at possible
failure modes in dynamic situations”
health and safety obligations can be met. “We have to
consider how our operations might impact others and
ensure everybody’s safety,” says Harper.
Another major step is to set up an occurrence
reporting scheme. This is a way of recording and
documenting things that go wrong during testing that
weren’t anticipated in the test plan. “It could be a bracket
that breaks on the aircraft or something larger – a report
has to be filled out. Its identical to what happens in the
testing program at a large company developing a
conventional aircraft,” says Harper.
Safety risks are prioritized before any other project
management risks associated with costs and time are
considered. “After the test plan is produced, we know
2
where the potential pitfalls are. We manage the test
program to collect as much data as possible, so we can
extract as much value as possible from the testing. That
might mean adapting the test plan as we learn more
about the aircraft.
“You tiptoe out to the edges of performance and get
progressively more challenging to expand the flight
envelope in a safe way.”
But once the testing program
starts, the safety and
certification manager’s role
US$318 billion
should be diminished as long as
everything has been set up
properly. “Once everything is in
Estimated value of the
3 urban air mobility market
over the next 20 years
1 // Vertical Aerospace’s
latest prototype, Seraph,
can fly at speeds of up to
80km/h and carry 250kg,
the equivalent of three
passengers
2 // Aircraft’s increased
use of software means
testing code for errors
3 // Test plans are
established before a
flight test program, but
can be modified as long
as safety is prioritized
4// Complex systems
testing requires new
tools such as hardware in
the loop testing to meet
program schedules
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 67
 RISK MANAGEMENT
“Test should be treated as a
critical business function that
adds value to your organization”
place, I can take a back seat,” says Harper.
“The test is done in accordance with all
the processes and the plan.”
PROJECT RISKS
Although safety management is always
paramount, risks related to costs and time
also matter to a test program. Nick Butler
is global market leader for aerospace and
defense for National Instruments and
works with large established aerospace
companies and start-ups. The company
supplies equipment and instrumentation
for systems testing, embedded software
testing, communications and navigation
systems testing, electromechanical testing
as well as radar, electronic warfare and
signals testing.
Butler sees his clients in the aerospace
sector manage project risks regularly. He
says, “It is part of the project manager’s
role to meet schedules and deal with
budgets. Sometimes there is a trade-off
that can be made with quality and
reliability to achieve targets and they may
have to decide – are they going to do
more testing on an asset to ensure it is
mission-ready, or are they going to cut
those tests to stay on budget and on time?
“Our aim is to help project managers
and test engineers so they don’t have to
make that type of compromise – so they
can achieve the utmost quality and
reliability standards while meeting
budgets and schedules.”
Butler believes to avoid such
compromises, aerospace companies must
take a strategic approach to testing that
integrates it with design, development
and production cycles more closely.
68 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
200
electrically
propelled aircraft in
development around
the world
Ideally the test plan and the product is developed
concurrently. This means rethinking the traditional
approach, where engineers conduct validation, functional
and production testing after design and development.
“We are trying to evolve the approach to product
development so that you design then validate, then you
iterate the design and validate again. The use of digital
prototyping and model-based engineering allows you to
minimize the amount of physical prototyping and testing
in this process,” says Butler.
DEALING WITH COMPLEXITY
Testing in the virtual world offers a way of dealing with
increasingly complicated aircraft systems. As shown by
Boeing’s recent challenges with the 737 Max, systems
testing is arguably the most important part of aircraft
certification. Similar to model-based engineering and
virtual prototyping, hardware in the loop (HIL) testing is
a tool that enables engineers to manage risks better.
HIL testing involves laying out an aircraft’s systems,
such as an iron bird or flat-sat and inputting and
outputting signals into the systems to represent different
real-world scenarios. “Simulating in this way enables
6
5
7
5 // The Seraph prototype eVTOL takes
design cues from multi-rotor drones
and like many can be described as an
enlarged drone
6, 7 // The open rotors of the Seraph
were identified as a potential area for
failure and the risks were mitigated
accordingly in the test plan
8// Complex test programs for
aero engines use tools such as
simulation and digital twins to reduce
cost and risk in the test program
8
engineers to get a better handle on budgeting and
scheduling,” says Butler. “Risk will always increase as
complexity increases but we have the tools and approach
to mitigate risk and keep it below a threshold.”
Testing can often be seen as a necessary evil during
development, but Butler passionately believes that with
proper risk management, modern test systems and
approaches it can be a positive for an aerospace company.
“Test data is an untapped resource,” he says, “It’s a gold
mine of information that can really help customers
innovate faster.
“You learn about your product by testing it, so the
earlier you can test, the faster you can innovate and beat
your competition to deliver a reliable high quality
product on time and on budget.”
Aerospace companies are developing aircraft that are
simultaneously more innovative than anything the sector
has seen for decades and safe and reliable enough for
commercial operations. Meeting this challenge
successfully requires engineers to use the latest tools and
approaches to project management, while remaining
within the rules as established by more than a century of
aviation development to mitigate risks. \\
MAY 18–20, 2020 (May 18: invite only | May 19-20: Exhibits & Conference)

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 PRODUCTS & SERVICES
orion prepares for space with
advanced data acquisition system
NASA’s Orion Crew Vehicle will transport
astronauts to the Moon and beyond with its
structural integrity proved using the most
advanced technology available
S
pace exploration is back. NASA has
revealed ambitious efforts to send
humans back to the Moon and
eventually to Mars. After a decades-long
hiatus, the USA’s on-orbit goals are unfolding
rapidly, requiring concerted efforts from
experts in a variety of industries. G Systems
is contributing to this effort by building
critical test systems to ensure the safety
of astronauts on these never-before
attempted missions.
Artemis is at the heart of NASA’s plans, the
program will bring astronauts, including the
first female, to previously unexplored places
on the lunar surface. Orion is the deep space
exploration vehicle that will transport the
crew and it demands perfection to support
the astronauts traveling hundreds of
thousands of miles from home. G Systems
has delivered three test systems to Orion’s
prime contractor, Lockheed Martin to address
the question: What effects will this spacecraft
experience during take-off, space flight, and
re-entry?
“In a situation like this, there are no second
tries; you only have one shot at success,”
says Mark Krause, vice president of sales
and marketing at G Systems. “We leveraged
our engineering expertise and our ability to
3 The system monitors alarm and limit levels
70 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
solve complex integrated challenges and
built a set of systems that work together in a
distributed fashion to successfully complete
the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle’s first
structural test.”
G Systems delivered a custom
pressurization and venting (P&V) System that
enables engineers to apply pressure inside
the cabin that emulates strain in
flight. A first-of-its kind data
acquisition system (DAS) was
developed in tandem that
synchronizes over 3,000
analog channels of data. In
addition, a data
distribution system
(DDS) was delivered for
real-time and post-test
distribution of
synchronized parametric,
video, and audio data.
To deliver this solution
within a tight time
frame, G Systems
has used hardware
and software
components that
enabled short
development cycles. For
instance, the P&V system contains a control
unit that can control pressure while
simultaneously monitoring for critical faults
or alarms. The system has touchscreen
capabilities along with a graphical user
interface that enables the operator to control
pressure from a remote location.
Similarly, both the DAS and the DDS
contain advanced functionality. Primarily
designed to measure strain, the heart of the
DAS system collects over 1,800 channels of
synchronized data and has the capability to
calculate several thousand more
synchronized, user-defined, virtual channels.
that may trigger a shutdown. The DDS’s job is
2 Orion capsules, with the option of purchasing
1 // The Orion crew
module and test stand
2 // Orion’s pressurization
and vent system emulates
strain in flight
3 // Orion’s data
acquisition system
supports 3,000 analog
channels of data
For more about this advertiser, visit www.magupdate.co.uk/pati
1
to present data from the P&V System and the
DAS, as well as from 32 IP cameras and eight
microphones that are situated near the test
article to observe the test in
progress. GUIs are once again
used to view tests in progress
or retrieve past test data. These
three systems work together to
replicate real-world scenarios and
provided the capabilities needed
to complete those early-
stage structural tests.
All eyes are on Orion as it
gears up for its first manned
lunar mission in 2024. NASA
has awarded Lockheed Martin a
US$4.6 billion contract to purchase six
an additional six vehicles. Orion, along with
the Space Launch System by which it will be
transported, is the new symbol of deep
space exploration.
“Our goal as a company is to rapidly
deploy complex test systems that keep our
customers’ assets safe and mission ready,”
says Krause. “We are proud to have
contributed to this national effort and will
continue to support NASA during the
upcoming ground breaking missions.” \\
FREE READER INQUIRY SERVICE
g systems
All the latest news • Exclusive features • Industry interviews • Expert opinion
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 PRODUCTS & SERVICES
world’s smallest iepe
triaxial accelerometer
Size should be a crucial factor when selecting an accelerometer
W
ho, on Heaven’s green earth, would
want to buy a triaxial accelerometer,
much less one that’s so small it can
hardly be seen?
It’s a good question from a cost-conscious
test professional that sees the price of three
single axis accelerometers as less expensive
than a triaxial accelerometer and one who is
measuring vibration on large objects.
However, time is money and preparing a
single location for mounting one device
rather than three locations for three devices
makes sense.
Further, cable installation and connecting
to instrumentation is less complicated and
less time consuming for a single location
than three. From a measurement perspective,
taking data from a single location allows test
professionals to preserve phase information
as well as to ensure the data is not
contaminated by structural differences
among locations.
MINIATURE AND LIGHTWEIGHT
Size is important for two reasons. First, it
avoids mass-loading effects where the mass
of the accelerometer on a small structure
alters the natural frequency of the structure
under test. Secondly, many measurements
have very demanding space restrictions.
Consequently, the ultra-miniature, lightweight
footprint of Endevco’s 35C makes it ideal for
space-restricted testing applications,
72 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
especially in the aircraft, spacecraft, satellite,
and missile industries where more
conventional accelerometers cannot be used.
The 35C is an ultra-miniature, adhesive
mounted triaxial piezoelectric accelerometer
with integral electronics. Its tiny size, 0.235in
cube, and light weight, 0.76g (sensor only),
makes it ideal for measuring vibration on very
small objects.
All materials used for the Model 35C
construction have less than or equal to 1%
TML (Total Mass Loss) and a CVCM (Collected
Volatile Condensed Mass) less than or equal
to 0.1%, verified by NASA documentation. The
shear ferroelectric crystal technology
underlying the sensor design provides
very low sensitivity to base strain, cable
strain and very low thermal transient
response. This technology also provides a
wide-band frequency and insensitivity to
non-acceleration input in a rugged and
reliable package.
The 35C’s hermetically sealed titanium
case is well-suited for use in humid, corrosive
and dirty environments. Further, its
waterproof Ingress Protection Marking (IP68)
guarantees performance at 100 meters depth
and 48 hours duration. Mounting the
accelerometer is easily performed using
Cyanoacrylate adhesives while removal is
achieved with the appropriate solvent and
the removal tool supplied with
each accelerometer.
// The Endevco 35C
accelerometer is small
enough to be used instead
of three accelerometers
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PERFORMANCE
The 35C has an integral three-foot cable that
terminates to a single threaded ¼-28 4-pin
connector. This accelerometer is available in
three sensitivities: 2.5 mV/g, 5 mV/g and 10
mV/g. It operates in annular shear mode
which exhibits excellent output sensitivity
stability over time. The 35C is also designed
with a very low noise floor that results in an
outstanding signal to noise ratio for more
accurate measurements.
The accelerometer incorporates an internal
hybrid signal conditioner in a two-wire
system, which transmits its low impedance
voltage output through the same cable that
supplies the required constant current power.
Typical resonance frequency of the Model
35C is 40 kHz with maximum amplitude
response (±5%) of z and y axis of 2-8000 Hz
and maximum amplitude response (±5%) of x
axis of 2-6000 Hz. Highest nominal range is
±2800 g’s.
This accelerometer operates directly with
industry standard, easily available data
systems that have built-in constant current
power supply that provides low per channel
costs. Endevco also offers optional Models
123 and 133 signal conditioners for the 35C.
The 35C offers many benefits to aerospace
engineers whose end goal is keeping people
safe and the planet green. Its technology
requires little operator attention, training or
installation expertise. High quality data is
effortlessly acquired over extended distances
with minimal noise and electrical
interference. You could even heat up your
coffee to 125°C, pour it over the 35C and still
get good data without harming the device. \\
FREE READER INQUIRY SERVICE
endevco

UNCONVENTIONAL
IMAGING WORKFLOWS
Advances in high-speed camera
technology help researchers
increase the quality and
efficiency of data acquisition
H
igh-speed cameras are used by
aerospace engineers for a variety of
subjects. They are found assisting in the
development and evaluation of new
materials, performing inspections, and
monitoring safety tests. As the technology
advances the imaging power of these
cameras continues to increase as pixel
resolution and frame rate capabilities provide
better motion analysis.
Many of the events these cameras capture
are very short and occur in under a second.
Traditional RAM-based cameras are designed
with this principle in mind. RAM sizes
inherently limit the possible duration of each
capture, then those images must be
transferred before the next test can run. The
more frames per second (fps) there are in a
recording, and the more pixel resolution, the
larger the file size is that must be transferred
out of the RAM of the camera. This is a
challenge due to the sheer size of the data.
For example, a 1 Mpx camera at 1,000 fps
results in 1.5GB for every second of capture, a
4 Mpx camera at the same rate results in 6GB
per second. A Phantom v2640 which
captures 4 Mpx at over 6,000 fps, requires
72GB for 2 seconds of data.
RAM sizes are expanding, up to
288GB in the case of the v2640, to
accommodate several seconds of capture.
3
2
This is useful for data assurance with single
events, and otherwise can be segmented to
capture multiple events back to back before
transferring the data. This on its own
can increase efficiency, particularly for
events that happen in fast succession.
The speed of which those raw images are
then transferred is the next obstacle. High-
speed cameras create a lot of data and using
Gb Ethernet as the main connection and
download source can be slow, 20 minutes or
more, if the full RAM is used. Phantom
cameras solve this problem by either - using
the continuous recording feature with
segmented RAM, saving to the ultra-fast
CineMag recording media, or using 10Gb
Ethernet to download to a computer. With
10Gb Ethernet an uncompressed 72GB
recording can download in as little as two
minutes.
1 // A long record DVR
system improves the wind
tunnel test efficiency
2 // Many events these
cameras capture occur in
under a second
3 // By using a Phantom
S210 and a 3 TB DVR up to
20 minutes can be
recorded at 1,700 fps
without interruption
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PRODUCTS & SERVICES
1
While large RAM sizes and fast data
transfer are helpful, they are still limited by a
fixed duration, measured in seconds, that the
camera can record at one time. New offerings
in high-speed image streaming can solve this
problem by interfacing with DVR units
consisting of very large banks of secure SSD
media. CXP-based streaming cameras,
including the full line of Phantom high-speed
machine vision cameras, can record at high
frame rates for several minutes with these
DVR systems.
As an example, wind tunnel testing often
involves repositioning the subject throughout
a test that can last several minutes. By using
a Phantom S210 and a 3 TB DVR up to 20
minutes can be recorded at 1,700 fps without
interruption. The images can then be played
back immediately, trimmed and saved, or
saved as one large video to an alternate
system for later analysis. A long record DVR
system improves the wind tunnel test
efficiency by allowing the test to run in its
entirety, while knowing every frame is being
recorded so unexpected events are captured
as well.
While different systems may be
recommended depending on the required
frame rate, resolution and duration, Phantom
CXP-based streaming cameras and DVR
system provide new possibilities to the world
of high-speed image acquisition. \\
FREE READER INQUIRY SERVICE
vision research
73
 PRODUCTS & SERVICES
high-speed cameras
for aerospace testing
High-speed cameras facilitate the detailed analysis of projectile flights, missile
launches, combustion processes, engine performance, fuselage durability, material
strength, flow/particle movement and more – there are many factors to consider when
purchasing a high-speed camera – the most important of these are described below
T
he first consideration is frame rate. How
many frames per second (fps) are
required to capture sufficient image
detail to analyze a high-speed event? There
are a handful of camera suppliers who
provide cameras that run at speeds in excess
of a few thousand fps at megapixel resolution
or higher.
LIGHT SENSITIVITY
In certain applications light sensitivity is
the single most critical consideration.
Light sensitivity impacts the quality of high-
speed images because without
it the images will be dark and
difficult, if not impossible,
to analyze. Light sensitivity
is typically presented as an
ISO value. The higher the
ISO value, the more sensitive
a camera should be. There
are standards – such as
ISO 12232 – that define how to
measure light sensitivity, but
many high-speed camera
vendors do not adhere to the
standards when they measure
the ISO values of their cameras.
Some vendors publish ISO values but do not
specify which ISO standard
the values conform to. Without such
information the ISO values are meaningless.
MINIMUM EXPOSURE
Some very fast high-speed events require
extremely short exposure times – sometimes
even less than a single microsecond – to stop
the motion of those events. A camera’s
ability to achieve a sub-microsecond
exposure is dependent on two things. First,
the camera’s sensor must be capable of
performing such a short exposure. Secondly,
the camera’s sensor must be sensitive
enough that when it does use a
sub-microsecond exposure it can capture
74 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
enough photons of light to generate video
that is of sufficient quality for analysis.
DATA OFFLOAD
After the high-speed event has been
captured by a camera, the video data must be
transferred from the internal memory on the
camera to a more permanent location for
storage and analysis. Most camera suppliers
have chosen to implement some form of
Ethernet to enable the transfer of the data
from the camera. Because the recorded data
can be tens of gigabytes or larger in volume,
the data transfer over Ethernet can be a
bottleneck in getting the data out of
the camera.
As an alternative to Ethernet, some
cameras can download images at very high
data rates to a removable nonvolatile memory
source such as a high capacity removable
SSD. Recorded data can then be directly
accessed from the SSD while it is coupled to
the camera, or the drive may be removed
from the camera and inserted into a docking
station for image transfer to a PC.
SEALED CAMERA BODY
Certain testing environments contain large
quantities of airborne dust and other
corrosive particles. Some camera suppliers
3
1 // Still image captured
using Photron high-speed
cameras of space shuttle
Endeavour’s thrusters
2 // Two FASTCAM SA-Z
high-speed cameras were
used at Wichita State
University for DIC fuselage
drop test
3 // Photron’s FASTCAM
NOVA sealed body high-
speed camera shoots
12,800fps at 1024 x 1024
For more about this advertiser, visit www.magupdate.co.uk/pati
1
2
have implemented a sealed body design that
prevents such contaminants from being
ingested within the internal camera body,
where they can adhere to and damage
sensitive electronics.
Aerospace testing environments can be
especially challenging for high-speed
cameras. Frame rate and light sensitivity are
typically the most important factors to
consider when purchasing high-speed
cameras, but as discussed above, there are
other things one should think about such as
minimum exposure time, data offload speeds,
and a camera body design that protects
sensitive electronics from contamination by
airborne particles. Photron’s new FASTCAM
NOVA provides impressive performance in
each of these areas.\\
FREE READER INQUIRY SERVICE
photron

efficient wind
tunnel testing
Gaining more insights into aeroacoustic
performance and increasing productivity
with dedicated wind tunnel testing solutions
T
rends in aviation involve a continuous
pressure to increase performance, all the
while reducing pollutant and
environmental noise emission. And even with
the industry’s recent efforts in aircraft noise
reduction, airframe noise generated by
landing gear, flaps, slats or other high-lift
devices are still significant contributors to
aircraft acoustic emissions, especially during
approach and landing.
Wind tunnel tests help investigate new
aircraft concepts, verify performance of
innovative designs, and validate prediction
models. Thanks to increasing computational
power, more models are used in design
phases, and wind tunnel testing is the
ultimate way to validate these models long
before the aircraft can actually fly. However,
wind tunnel testing typically involves high
costs linked to the preparation of the test
item and operation of the wind tunnel and
must be performed efficiently to get the most
out of the limited testing time.
Siemens, in cooperation with its partner
MicrodB, has developed a highly efficient
solution for aeroacoustic wind tunnel testing.
This solution allows detailed and accurate
aeroacoustic measurements through its data
acquisition system, the latest processing
algorithms and customized acoustic array
techniques. Measurements are best done in
an integrated platform, where
multi-physics testing, both for
aerodynamics and aeroacoustics
are conducted to gain the most
insights possible into aircraft
performance, and especially into noise
generation mechanisms. Moreover, the
productivity of the tests is of utmost
importance and fast processing techniques
are essential. Through smart data
management and run comparison, many
aircraft configurations can be tested and
evaluated in a minimum time.
This is nicely illustrated in a measurement
campaign performed at the RUAG LWTE
(Large Wind Tunnel Emmen). An acoustic
array with flush-mounted microphones was
placed on the wind tunnel floor, about 2.4m
from the aircraft model. This technique allows
for a view of the source mechanisms to be
obtained without perturbing the flow or the
acoustic field of the source location. The
Simcenter SCADAS high-speed data
acquisition system acquired the pressure
signals from the array microphones and
pressure signals from kulite sensors mounted
on the aircraft model to monitor aerodynamic
performance. Simcenter Testlab software
acquired aircraft position, aerodynamic data
and acoustic data in a unified platform and
with high synchronization accuracy.
2
1 // Aircraft model inside
the RUAG wind tunnel
with the acoustic array on
the floor
2 // Sound source
localization results at
5kHz for the aircraft model
with and without landing
gear (Images courtesy of
RUAG Aviation)
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AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
1
A processing technique is used to analyze
time delays between each microphone signal
and reconstruct an acoustic source map of
the aircraft for selected frequencies. With
enhanced GPU-accelerated computing, the
team obtained the detailed sound source
localization results just a few minutes after
the measurement, which allowed them to
adjust the test plan on-the-spot and test the
most relevant configurations. The source
localization map provides a detailed aircraft
image with the noise sources colored
according to relative intensity.
This dedicated testing solution developed
by Siemens combines the essential elements
to provide higher efficiency and deeper
insights for wind tunnel testing. As testified
by the airframe noise senior engineer in
charge of this test campaign, “The sound
source localization technique developed by
the Siemens and MicrodB team, together with
the acoustic array provided by RUAG Aviation,
proved to be very accurate. It allowed us to
clearly identify complex aeroacoustic source
generation mechanisms. These
measurements provide essential engineering
insight in the development of quieter and
more efficient aircraft.” \\
FREE READER INQUIRY SERVICE
siemens
75
 PRODUCTS & SERVICES
sound & vibration measurements
for a safer, quieter future
Improved reliability, fuel economy and noise
mitigation require accurate, valid data
T
he aerospace and defense industry has
always at Brüel & Kjær’s core. The
accuracy, quality and reliability of its
products are a perfect fit to the demands of
this industry. Many industry-leading products,
such as LAN-XI, result from that role and aid
our existing and future customers to improve
their product quality, reliability and time
to market.
AEROACOUSTICS
The aeroacoustic test is not only required by
the authorities to meet evolving
environmental requirements, it is a key task in
achieving quieter, fuel-saving, and low-
emission aircraft. The progression of acoustic
propagation models requires physical test
data to be more accurate and precise than
ever. Therefore increased channel counts,
resulting in longer test preparation, is
needed. Setup time is directly influenced by
complexity, and with increasing wind tunnel
usage, competition for time slots is stiff. This
means there is no room for error or re-testing.
Our LAN-XI-based data acquisition
systems can be freely placed around the test
sample, allowing greatly reduced sensor
cabling costs and simpler test preparation.
GAS TURBINE TESTING
The demand for more fuel efficient and
quieter aircraft engines has put engine
manufacturers into focus for delivering faster
and smarter powerplants.
Aircraft engine development presents a
major challenge: merging improved
performance with a 100% operational
reliability. Brüel & Kjær’s solution offers a fully
integrated, highly scalable system
architecture that provides real-time data
monitoring for potentially dozens of remote
data processing and viewing seats. It
communicates seamlessly with slow speed
DAQ system and engine instrumentation
information systems through APIs.
76 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
SATELLITE TESTING
Every satellite that goes into
orbit needs to run through
specific test campaigns to
simulate the launch before it
happens. Manufacturers and
operators must be sure that
all systems can fulfill their
intended tasks and operate
for their expected lifetime.
The setup of such a test is a
huge undertaking, with high
channel counts and
technical complexity. A
streamlined workflow and
standardized process
dedicated to minimizing // The combination of the modern user interface, with tasks and
errors is key to being cost-effective testing. right shaker with LAN-XI subtasks that are fully customizable, improve
Brüel & Kjær hardware and software will ensure the right data, productivity and reduce test campaign
provide reliable data with easy access to regardless of the satellite’s preparation time.
size (Photo: INPE)
shock response, swept and stepped Sine, Brüel &Kjær can offer the complete
random vibration, and acoustic testing. Time measurement chain – from excitation to
savings start with a spreadsheet that can be sensors and all the way through data
concurrently edited by specialists to save acquisition and evaluation. Shaker excitation
time. The system can also record the entire is needed when the natural source isn’t
test and at the same time extract testing available, or the test must run under defined
impulses for transfer directly to post- parameters or environmental conditions. A
processing without having to visually crop great deal of effort has been taken to ensure
each impulse. that acquired data is accurate and valid
and repeatable.
STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS Brüel & Kjær is able to provide fast and
This area covers the behavior of structures reliable measurement systems that enable
subjected to dynamic loading. Understanding swift decision-making with the confidence
how structures behave in action enables that data is right the first time, greatly
engineers to optimize their designs, monitor impacting time to market. Global
structural integrity, and maximize synchronized data distribution capabilities
performance. allow our worldwide-acting clients to
Brüel & Kjær offers a complete and unique improve their processes and the optimized
solution to address experimental structural usage of limited human resources. \\
dynamics purposes, with a full coverage of
the measurement and analysis chain, based FREE READER INQUIRY SERVICE
on BK Connect software, LAN-XI hardware,
modal shakers and/or hammers, and
transducers such as force transducers,
Brüel & Kjær
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accelerometers and tacho probes. Our
 NEW FOR
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ONE VENUE
FOUR GREAT
SHOWS

ARCH 2020
12 M
FIND YOUR FASTENING
AND MATERIALS
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 PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
HIGH SPEED VIDEO SYSTEM
FOR STORE SEPARATION TESTING
A network of
high-speed video
cameras ensures
complete coverage of
store separation tests
during flight for pilot
and ground control.
Reliable coverage of such
sensitive events is achieved by
combining recording technology
with high-speed cameras.
Airborne-worthy cameras that fit
in aircraft and recorder systems
with useful accessories that hold
up under extreme environmental
conditions are the core elements
of these high-speed image data
recording systems.
The camera’s core is a sensitive
CMOS sensor that is embedded
into a well-built thermally
balanced design to avoid any
issues during operation. The
camera is tested according to
MIL810 and MIL461 standards.
In addition, the camera offers
built in CFast interface for
in-camera data storage on a non-
volatile medium.
Up to 12 cameras are supported
by the ASTREC-4 controller. The
interface commands for piloting
the cameras come either from the
cockpit, the aircraft’s electronic,
or via telemetry system from
ground control. Each camera is
connected via Gigabit Ethernet
78 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
for data
download
after tests in order,
so that the camera memory is
free for the next recording. The
controller serves as the central
point for parametrization and
video data download.
To record store separation the
cameras are placed in the
designated position and linked to
the ASTREC-4 controller. The
ground staff parametrize the
cameras and controller with
necessary settings. Upon starting
the engine for the flight, the
system boots up and
automatically records the event
through a simple trigger input, by
means of manual input or from
aircraft electronics. Via video
interface to telemetry system the
ground staff can witness the
events live. After return to ground
the sequences are available for
in-depth analysis. \\
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aos technologies
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HIGH SPEED DATA
ACQUISITION SOLUTIONS
E lsys offers fast, high
precision data
acquisition instruments
and solutions. Elsys
data acquisition
instruments are
successfully used in a
wide range of applications and promote efficiency and
output driven developments.
Fast sampling rates from 2 to 240MHz make the
products suitable for a versatile number of application
fields like material testing (acoustic emission, ultrasound
measurements), power measurements (high voltage
circuit breakers, spike detection, efficiency measurement)
or ballistic and blast measurements.
Elsys’ family of TraNET devices offers turnkey data
acquisition solutions and are extensible from four up to
32 channels per device. They are suitable for field
measurements or service and maintenance tasks. The
compact size of the TraNET FE devices makes them
suitable for travelling maintenance personnel. Larger
systems like the TraNET EPC are built in a standard 19in
industrial chassis and offer high speed data throughput
on longtime streaming applications.
The outstanding strength of Elsys DAQ solutions is the
flexibility for specific customer modifications. This could
either be a modified instrument chassis, the integration of
additional third party hardware or even modified or
additional software functionality in the application
Software TranAX. Several open software interfaces allow
integration of the Elsys DAQ solution in almost any
customer specific environment. If any support is needed,
Elsys can provide software integration know-how and
support in many different programming languages. \\
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elsys
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 PRODUCTS & SERVICES

ACCELEROMETERS FOR PRECISION ANTI-ALIASING

VIBRATION TESTING FILTERS FOR CDAQ AND CRIO
SATELLITES
W hen analog signals are sampled
by A/D converters, the sampled
The CompactDAQ (cDAQ) and
CompactRIO (cRIO) platforms,

E xposure to a space environment induces material

outgassing in ordinary accelerometers and cables.
Contaminants from outgassing can condense onto nearby
data record could have come from
other signals outside of the
bandwidth of interest – aliases. The
introduced by National
Instruments, provide a convenient
form factor for data acquisition
surfaces such as photo-optic devices and obscure them, Sampling Theorem states that an systems. However many A/D
rendering them useless during their intended application. analog signal must be sampled at modules do not have front end
During random vibration, swept sine or shock testing, least twice the highest frequency filters requiring the user to provide
spacecraft payloads are often fitted with accelerometers in contained in the signal to prevent an external filter to provide
inaccessible mounting locations. As the space structure is aliasing. In other words, no protection against aliasing.
built up around them, it can become impossible to remove information higher than half the Precision Filters offers a pair of
the accelerometers. sampling frequency can exist low-pass filter modules for the
Sensors installed for ground vibration testing may in the signal, otherwise aliasing cDAQ and cRIO platforms that
therefore remain on the structure even if they are no longer will occur. enable users to easily add high
needed for testing purposes. Also, before the vibration Signals above Fs/2 do exist in the performance anti-aliasing filters to
testing occurs, it is typical to perform a thermal vacuum signal and require a filter to their system. The 9602 provides
operational checkout of the satellite. The accelerometers attenuate them to an acceptable 6-pole filters with cutoffs
are typically exposed to this extreme environment. level. If you do not properly filter programmable from 10 Hz to
Model TLD356M155 is a hermetic, low outgassing, the input signal, the digitized 127kHz and includes an integrated
triaxial, ceramic shear, ICP accelerometer with a sensitivity output will contain aliasing errors amplifier to gain up low-level
of 2.5 mV/g, a ±2000 g measuring range, and an operating that look like real data and since signals. The PFI-9608 has 4-pole
temperature from -54 to +1210C. Designed for shock and the aliasing signals are unknown, programmable filters with cutoffs
vibration on satellites where mass loading is a concern, the errors are unknown and available from 10 Hz to 30 kHz. Both
this sensor weighs in at only 4.5 grams. cannot be corrected by modules feature Precision’s FLAT/
The sensor features a high measuring range (2000 g, post-processing. PULSE filter characteristics. \\
sensitivity of 2.5 mV/g) and high resolution (0.008 g rms).
This allows it to be used for sine, random and shaker shock
without the need to swap out accelerometers for different
measuring ranges.
Model TLD356M131 is a hermetic, low outgassing,
triaxial, quartz shear, ICP accelerometer with a sensitivity
of 10 mV/g, a ±500 g measuring range and an operating
temperature from -60 to +600C. The quartz sensing crystal
allows for a storage temperature from -190 to +1210C and a
more stable thermal performance. This model is useful
because it does not need to be removed from a satellite
under test during cryogenic vacuum testing, which usually
occurs before vibration testing.
Both new sensors feature IEEE
P1451.4 TEDS that
self-identifies the
accelerometer, making it
extremely easy for the
operator to trace. \\

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pcb PIEZOTRONICS precision filters
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AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // DECEMBER 2019 79

 PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
just in real time
H ardware in the loop testing
systems generally require a real-
time capability to fulfill test and
simulation requirements. There are
various activities with respect to
retrofits and new designs of
hardware in the loop systems
including changes of hardware
backplanes and the software
environments. On the hardware
side ‘traditional’ test system
backplanes like VME are
progressively being replaced by
PCIe and PXIe for different reasons.
With such architectural changes
in the hardware, the software
environment is also impacted, since
these backplanes are typically
controlled from PC architectures.
AIM has recently introduced board
software packages for the RTX64
RTOS extension for Windows
allowing users applications control
over the AIM ARINC429, MIL-
STD-1553 and serial interfaces
(with special protocol on the RS485
physical layer) in real-time to
support a customer migration onto
PCIe platforms for future test
system implementation (see figure
1). In this case AIM’s portfolio of
native PCIe products along with
XMC interface boards for various
Figure 1: Application Figure 2: Application
Interfacing in RTX64 Interfacing in a PXIe Realtime
environment LINUX environment
80 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
avionics data buses offer a suitable
hardware interface baseline for
HIL test systems.
Another approach from the
software point of view is to use
real-time Linux based PXIe
platforms for hardware in the loop
test system implementation. Again,
AIM serves such environments by a
set of available native PXIe based
interface boards for ARINC429,
MIL-STD-1553, ARINC664P7/AFDX
and STANAG3910, all of which can
be operated in PXIe systems in a
real-time Linux environment.
Compatibility to a National
Instruments-based target system
with real-time Linux has been
recently proven, allowing the use of
AIM interface boards via
C-Programming or even from
LabViewRT applications based on
real-time Linux-based target
systems (see figure 2).
When envisaging a new test
system architecture, AIM can offer
a wide range of products for
different backplanes with
compatibility to the above
mentioned real-time software
environments, but not only limited
to these. \\
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AIM
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Index to advertisers
Aerospace Testing International..................................................63, 71, 81
AIM GmbH.....................................................................................................................51
AOS Technologies AG..........................................................................................29
Bruel & Kjaer Sound & Vibration Measurement A/S.................83
CERTIA.............................................................................................................................29
Chell Instruments Ltd.........................................................................................23
Curtiss-Wright............................................................................................................31
DTS - Diversified Technical Systems.......................................................45
Endevco.........................................................................................................................43
Elsys AG.........................................................................................................................43
Engineering Solutions Live.............................................................................77
FMV....................................................................................................................................45
G Systems.....................................................................................................................41
Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel........................................................................ 57
INCAS - National Institute for Aerospace Research..................... 11
Lumistar Inc.................................................................................................................31
North Star Imaging Inc...................................................................................... 37
PCB Piezotronics Inc.............................................................................................16
Photron USA Inc...................................................................................................... 27
REL Inc...............................................................................................................................2
Siemens Industry Software............................................................................84
Smarter Shows Ltd...............................................................................................69
Telspan Data................................................................................................................15
Test Fuchs GmbH.................................................................................................... 57
United Electronic Industries Inc (UEI)....................................................51
Vision Research.......................................................................................................23
Zodiac Data Systems..............................................................................................5
www.aerospacetestinginternational.com
All the latest news • Exclusive features • Industry interviews
Expert opinion • Video gallery • Recruitment section
Digital edition and magazine archive
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Inside this issue

FREE SERVICE!
// DITCH TESTING
The latest instrumentation
and simulation technologies
are modernizing how
aircraft land on water

// DETECT & AVOID

Testing of drones with
automatic collision
avoidance is making
progress in Alaska, USA
DECEMBER 2019

// MADE IN SPACE
How 3D printers and
robots designed to build
satellites in orbit are being
tested on Earth by
aerospace engineers

Risky Leading eVTOL developers and industry

experts reveal how they manage risk
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when testing experimental aircraft

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 aft cabin
// BEN SAMPSON

1 // Super Constellation
“Southern Wave” was
flown by Qantas from 1955
before it crashed during
take off at Mauritius
2 // One of only two flying
Super Constellations is
based at Wollongong
Airport in Australia

the kangaroo route

The latest Boeing Dreamliner is flying non-stop from the Lockheed Martin
UK to Sydney, Australia in 19 hours. The route has always Super Constellation
been a showcase for aeronautical innovation, including Statistics
the revolutionary Lockheed Constellation 75 years ago

Jan 1943
A ustralian airline Qantas is flying a Dreamliner on a
series of non-stop flights between Sydney to London
above the weather, improving the safety and comfort of
air travel for large numbers of passengers. The aircraft
First Flight

and New York to research ways of reducing jet lag and

optimizing flight crew rest patterns. The Project Sunrise
research program is helping Qantas work out how to run
also featured electric de-icing, hydraulically assisted
controls and reversible pitch propellers.
The Constellation’s development, which started in June
37.5m
Span
regular non-stop flights from New York and London to the 1939, was disrupted by the Second World War. Although
east coast of Australia, something it plans to do from
2023. The journey between the UK and Sydney, also
initially ordered by Howard Hughes’ Trans World Airlines,
after the USA entered the war in 1941 the aircraft was 29m
Length
known as the “Kangaroo Route” can now be made in just adopted by the military. The Constellation made its first
19 and a half hours non-stop. flight as the C-69 in January 1943. However,
The Kangaroo Route has long
showcased the progress of the
problems with the R-3550
powerplant delayed flight
39,122kg
Max. takeoff weight
aviation industry. When the testing and then the B-20
first Brisbane to London
service was launched in
1935 it took almost two
Superfortress became
priority for the R-3550
engines. Out of an initial
313mph
Cruising speed
weeks to make the trip. order of 269, only 22
Passengers had to use
different airlines and travel by
train for a portion of the journey.
Constellations were every
built for the US Air Force.
The end of the war meant
3,995 miles
Range
2
Laborious, but still quicker than the civilian production could resume and
six-week trip by sea at the time.
It took Qantas’s introduction of the USA-made
variants designed to better meet the needs of airline
customers. Stretched versions such as the Super
25,300ft
Ceiling
Lockheed Constellation in 1947, known as the “Connie”, to Constellation were developed to increase the number of
establish the route. The increased range and speed of the passengers the aircraft could carry. Lockheed produced
Constellation, which was powered by four piston engines, 856 Constellations before the advent of jet-engined
meant the journey could be made by a single airline for airliners made piston-engined aircraft obsolete.
2,200hp
From each of the four
the first time, reducing the journey to just four days of Today, one of only two surviving airworthy examples of Wright R-3350 engines
travel comprising of 58 flying hours and six stops. the Constellation can be found in Illawarra, Australia at
The Constellation is a historically noteworthy aircraft
for several reasons, not least because of its distinctive
dolphin-shaped fuselage and triple tail design. Crucially,
Wollongong Airport. The former military aircraft located
there was rescued, restored and painted with Qantas
livery during the 1990s. The aircraft aptly displays
81
Passenger capacity
the aircraft pioneered cabin pressurization in civil aviation’s innovation of the past, while the Kangaroo
airliners. Pressurization enabled the Constellation to fly Route continues to showcase its future. \\

82 DECEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM

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