c5load From United States of America, joined Sep 2008, 917 posts, RR: 0 Posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 3882 times:
Looking at this photo and all of the equipment inside, what does it all do? It still has all of the standard equipment any other passenger jet has, so what is with all the extra equipment?
BoeEngr From United States of America, joined Feb 2010, 313 posts, RR: 33 Reply 4, posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 3831 times:
The test airplanes are fitted with numerous sensors (thermocouples, strain gauges, pressure transducers, etc.) and a data network that monitors and captures the data. The test racks you're seeing here are a part of that data system, and allow for real time viewing and troubleshooting of the data and the system.
So if we're performing a test, be it on ground or in the air, the Flight Test Engineers can turn on certain aspects of the system, and monitor the data to ensure the test is meeting the requirements of the test, and the data is being pulled as necessary.
zainmax From Pakistan, joined Jul 2009, 109 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 3688 times:
Test equipment use for measuring thousands of parameters, temperatures, voltage, bla bla.
This data is analysed regularly to check the system's performance and to ensure that all the systems installed on this plane are capable to withstand in all situations.
tdscanuck From Canada, joined Jan 2006, 12709 posts, RR: 80 Reply 6, posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 9 hours ago) and read 3484 times:
Quoting MingToo (Reply 3): Looks like Number 5 from the film Short Circuit has sneaked on and is hiding and peering over the cabinets half way down on the right.
Those are oxygen bottles. The flight test racks are in the wrong position to reach the passenger oxygen masks if they drop, plus passenger oxygen doesn't last nearly long enough for flight testing.
etherealsky From United States of America, joined Apr 2010, 327 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (2 years 10 months 1 week 6 hours ago) and read 3421 times:
Quoting tdscanuck (Reply 6): ...plus passenger oxygen doesn't last nearly long enough for flight testing.
Unless I'm missing something (maybe some tests are run with the cabin depressurized?) , they must be pretty committed to the flight test schedule if they don't consider in-flight depressurization a suficient reason to make an emergency landing, rather opting to continue the flight
What altitudes are typically used for transport category flight testing, anyway?
BoeEngr From United States of America, joined Feb 2010, 313 posts, RR: 33 Reply 12, posted (2 years 9 months 3 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 2467 times:
Those positions are typically staffed in flight. They are not, however, staffed during high risk testing, such as flutter testing. Otherwise, you'll typically see 15+ flight test engineers manning the stations during ground and flight testing.
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