B7.2 - Automated Post-Flight Data and Signal Analysis in Flight Test Instrumentation Applications
- Event
- ETTC 2026 - European Test and Telemetry Conference
2026-06-09 - 2026-06-11
Nuremberg - Chapter
- Data Management Applications II
- Author(s)
- S. Tambova, M. Seeman - Depart. of Test Instrumentation, eRC-System GmbH, Ottobrunn (Germany), O. B. Ozseven - Depart of Flight Test Instrumentation System Design, Turkish Aerospace (TA), Istanbul (Turkey), D. F. M. Heckmeier - Depart of Aerodynamics and Loads, eRC-System GmbH, Ottobrunn (Germany)
- Pages
- 280 - 293
- DOI
- 10.5162/ettc2026/B7.2
- Price
- free
Abstract
Aircraft development and certification depend on flight testing and data collection from sensor measurements. The efficient processing of this large data volume remains essential for analysis purposes while it verifies framework reliability and ensures flight safety. The use of conventional data management methods proves to be time-consuming and lack of smart features, thus demonstrating why reliable automated frameworks should be implemented. A new data analysis framework is demonstrated within this article, which is intended to simplify instrumentation data evaluation from flight tests. The flight-testing platform supports multiple sensor types for aircraft testing, including accelerometers, strain gauges, voltage-current sensors, thermocouples, and flowmeters. The framework maintains efficient dataset management by processing data for both parsing operations and mathematical calculations and by processing Packet Capture (PCAP) files incrementally to decrease memory requirements. The proposed analysis framework ensures data precision through digital signal processing techniques, in the time as well as frequency domains, such as the treatment of noisy data with filters. Furthermore, automated validation and error analysis are introduced as an advanced feature. Finally, the results are presented in nicely structured automated reports. In addition, various analysis verbosity levels are presented, with a "Full" mode for complete sensor data access and a "Quicklook" mode for fast data previews at lower telemetry rates and customized modes for individual sensor investigations. By automating intricate data handling tasks, from initial parsing and calibration to advanced signal analysis and rigorous error checking, this framework significantly enhances the efficiency, accuracy, and reliability of post-flight data interpretation. It equips engineers with a powerful tool to accelerate the flight test evaluation lifecycle, ultimately contributing to improved aircraft safety and more effective framework development.