Rugged Flight Test Mission Computers for Airborne Deployment

Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions Division has launched two new mission computers that enable the airborne deployment of IADS RTStation, the company’s software solution for real-time and post-test data visualization for flight test programs.

The fully integrated Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) computers are designed to provide direct access to critical data analysis and visualization data onboard the aircraft while undergoing test flights.

The IADS software suite is used by every major test program in the U.S. and in many other countries worldwide. It enables flight test engineers to monitor, in real-time, huge amounts of data collected from an aircraft during a flight test program. This data is used to help validate the successful completion of test points and for safety. IADS also enables detailed analysis of the data to be performed post-test, using IADS Post Test Explorer, a data search, analytics, and visualization platform designed specifically for the flight test industry.

IADS RTStation translates industry-standard flight test data formats into an array of information-rich, complex 2D/3D visuals. Its client-server architecture enables scalable, remote capture of telemetry data, un-tethered from the flight test range. Every data point is cached, allowing real-time scroll-back through the time history.

The Airborne IADS NXDP-4000-1 and Airborne IADS NXDP-3000-1 computers combine a Microsoft Windows-compatible Curtiss-Wright ruggedized Parvus DuraCOR mission computer with a full desktop version of IADS RTStation software. The size, weight, and power (SWaP)-optimized ultra-small form factor (USFF) NXDP-3000-1 features an Intel Atom x6400E processor-based Parvus DuraCOR 313 Mission Computer. For more compute-intensive airborne flight test programs, the small form factor (SFF) NXDP-4000-1, based on the Parvus DuraCOR 8044 Mission Computer featuring the more powerful Intel Xeon-W processor, is also available. The Airborne IADS systems provide users with an interactive interface that enables them to quickly customize displays, parameter definitions, analysis options and test setups in a matter of seconds. Users can then send these customized data configurations to displays on a connected monitor.

Brian Perry, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions Division, commented: “In an industry-first, we have combined our market-leading IADS RTStation software for flight test with our extremely rugged and compact Parvus DuraCOR family of mission computers to deploy real-time data analysis and visualization capabilities to pilots and test engineers onboard the test platform while in flight.

‘The new Airborne IADS NXDP-3000-1 and Airborne IADS NXDP-4000-1 systems, our most capable real-time onboard data processing and display products, uniquely provide users with the power to perform complex calculations on flight test data while onboard the test vehicle.“