Avionics and Training Systems

Continuing a long tradition of government and industry support, SwRI staff members provide design and development services in electrical engineering and computer science to create or improve products for flight electronics-based systems and equipment. Engineers and technicians also provide expertise in the development of sophisticated training and simulation systems for military and civilian clients.

An SwRI-developed guidance and control system was fitted to a test pallet that simulates the X-38 recovery vehicle during tests of the vehicle's 7,500-square-foot parachute. The system guides the test pallet to a pre-determined landing spot.

SwRI engineers provided a scale-model, unmanned, powered parafoil vehicle to test parachute flight control software. The parafoil's control system also was installed on an 18,000-pound test pallet used for full-scale testing of the X-38 re-entry vehicle's 7,500 square-foot parachute. These test systems use new designs by NASA Johnson Space Center, the European Space Agency, and SwRI. They have undergone numerous test flights at the Yuma Proving Grounds test center to prove the concept of controlling flight from a high altitude opening to a precision landing by following global positioning system (GPS) waypoints. The X-38 system will be used to return crew from the International Space Station to Earth in an emergency.

Under its teaming relationship with Lockheed Martin Systems Integration to provide prime contractor support for the A-10 aircraft, SwRI is participating in a major weapon system upgrade to enable the A-10 to employ precision weapons in future tactical environments. In related activities, SwRI provides design engineering services to support maintenance and sustainment initiatives to keep the A-10 viable until 2028.

The throttle cable in some aircraft has a potential for failure during routine flying activities. Failure of the throttle cable, inaccessible except for a few inches at the end of the cable, can result in loss of throttle control and could lead to critical failure or loss of the aircraft. SwRI researchers developed an ultrasonic guided wave technique that allows a sensor to be placed on the accessible end of the cable and generate a guided wave that travels down the cable's entire length. This technique can detect small defects along the length of the cable well in advance of failure.

In an internal research program, SwRI engineers developed the Pressure Mat(tm), a unique input device that enables users to incorporate natural motions into virtual reality simulations. The device detects standing, walking forward and backward, or sidestepping left and right, enabling the user to move naturally through the virtual environment and improving the effectiveness of the training simulation. Staff also wrote visualization software to illustrate pressure patterns, such as the positive prints shown in the inset.

Institute engineers provided design and integration support for final installation of the new instrumentation for test cells for the TF-39 turbine engine at U.S. Air Force test facilities. The new instruments provide the capability to test the large engines, which power C-5 cargo aircraft, before the engines are certified for return to service.

SwRI analysts developed an Oracle-based implementation of the Air Force Aircraft Structural Integrity Program for the C-130 fleet. The program stores usage data and later uses it to compute the incremental damage caused by each mission on aircraft structural components. These crack growth analysis techniques allow aircraft managers to predict structural component failure and initiate an inspection of the area to determine the actual damage. If no damage is discovered, the inspection action resets the crack growth to a predetermined length and the aircraft continues to fly. SwRI is also transferring this technology to the Navy C/KC-130 fleet. The converted system will implement Navy crack growth management philosophy and allow comparison of the two different management methods, eventually leading to improved fatigue life management methods for both services.

SwRI engineers developed a flight line tester to assist in troubleshooting avionics for U.S. Air Force aircraft. The tester consists of the portable automated test station and the operational test program (OTP). The OTP provides system-level troubleshooting of the line-replaceable units connected to the MIL-STD-1553B avionics bus. The OTP software provides maintenance personnel the capability to perform non-invasive troubleshooting through graphical user interfaces. It is currently in use at Air Force bases worldwide.

SwRI electronic design engineers use automated tools to produce dense, lightweight controls such as this one for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The flight control system weighs less than 14 ounces, yet provides autonomous flight control of the aircraft through a ground communication station, also developed by SwRI. Other applications include guidance of powered or unpowered miniature parafoil UAVs, target drones, and chemical-biological sampling UAVs.

Aircraft pilots monitor angle-of-attack (AOA) to determine the aircraft's attitude relative to the oncoming air to prevent undesirable events such as engine stall. For the U.S. Air Force, SwRI engineers studied problems with the AOA system on the F-16 aircraft. One problem involved the reliability, maintainability, and repeatability of aging depot-level test equipment for AOA transmitters. SwRI developed a bench-top tester for use during repair and for final sell-off of repaired transmitters. The new tester is computer-controlled and provides more automated testing of the F-16 AOA transmitter. A commercial data acquisition card with custom software algorithms measures and decodes the signals returned by the transmitter. The time required to test each transmitter was significantly decreased, while test repeatability and accuracy were increased. A documentation package was also provided to allow the government to operate, repair, and duplicate the tester without returning it to SwRI.

The AWACS Modeling and Simulation (AMS) System (Phase 2) developed by SwRI has been installed at Tyndall AFB, Florida. This system is the culmination of efforts to modify the previous AMS System (Phase 1), delivered in 1998. Improvements included modifying the simulation software to support training of additional mission crew positions, from 36 operator positions to 72. High-fidelity AWACS sensor simulations provide a more realistic environment. Expanded capabilities also include multiple AWACS exercises, in which several crews can communicate and interact as if they are on separate aircraft. Additionally, the system was ported to personal computers. Students began training with the updated system in February 2001.

SwRI upgraded the B-52 Stratofortress bomb navigation system maintenance trainers at Sheppard AFB, Texas, and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. Engineers and technicians replaced obsolete simulation systems with modern computers that use state-of-the-art input/output discrete monitoring and fault relay control, as well as modernized simulation software and user interfaces. Engineers also are developing a simulation of the Tactical Air Navigation/Global Positioning System modification already installed on the B-52 fleet. These upgrades bring the operational characteristics of the trainers closer to those of the aircraft bomb navigation system, thereby providing more realistic training. The modifications to the trainers also provide a hardware and software baseline for future upgrades.

The Air Force uses multiple catalogs from different training agencies to distribute information about aircraft maintenance training courses. SwRI is supporting Air Mobility Command (AMC) training needs by developing a web-based central repository for such information. The AMC Aircraft Maintenance Training Course Catalog is a searchable database of aircraft maintenance training available at AMC bases, the Air Education and Training Command, and the Defense Automated Visual Information System/Defense Instructional Technology Information System. The catalog allows readers to schedule, acquire, and order training courses online. It will increase training opportunities for maintenance technicians, enable personnel to guide their own training, make course information more accessible to supervisors, and provide a method to identify areas and tasks for which no training is available.

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