Instrumentation Systems. Flight Testing

286 Pages·1959·28.567 MB·English

FLIGHT
VOLUME I Performance
VOLUME II Stability and Control
VOLUME III Instrumentation Catalog
VOLUME IV Instrumentation Systems
GENERAL EDITOR COURTLAND D. PERKINS
Professor and Chairman
Aeronautical Engineering Department, Princeton University
ASSOCIATE EDITOR DANIEL 0. DOMMASCH, 1953-56
ENOCH J. DURBIN, 1956-
Aeronautical Engineering Department, Princeton University
Published for and on behalf of AGARD Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
1959
PER6AM0N PRESS
NEWYORK LONDON PARIS LOS ANGELES
PERGAMON PRESS, INC. 122 East 55th Street, New York 22 ,N. Y.
P.O. Box 47715, Los Angeles, California
PERGAMON PRESS LTD. 4 and 5 Fitzroy Square, London, W.l
PERGAMON PRESS, S.A.R.L. 24 Rue des Ecoles, Paris Ve
Second revised edition 1959
Copyright
©
1959
ADVISORY GROUP FOR
AERONAUTICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION
This volume was prepared under U.S.
Air Force Contract 18(600)-1323
f
administered by the Air Force Office
of Scientific Research of the Air
Research and Development Command.
Library of Congress Card No. 59-13097
Lithographed in the United States by Edwards Bros., Ann Arbor, Mich.
THE AGARD FLIGHT TEST PANEL
(May 1959)
Present Members
Mr. Alec F. ATKIN (United Kingdom) Mr. R. P. DICKINSON (United Kingdom)
Lt. Col. J. J. BERKOW, USAF (United States) Mr. M. N. GOUGH (United States)
Ten. Col. Dott. Ing. Enzo BIANCHI (Italy) Prof. F. HAUS (Belgium)
F/Lt. H. E. BJORNESTAD (Canada) Mr. Jean IDRAC (France)
Prof. Dr. phil. H. BLENK (Germany) Mr. Yavuz KANSU (Turkey)
Prof. Dr. G. BOCK (Germany) Mr. P. LECOMTE (France)
Lt. Col. P. N. BRANDT-MOE LLER (Denmark) Cdr. W. H. LIVINGSTON, USN (United States)
Col. de BUEGER (Belgium) Dr. Anton J. MARX (Holland)
Ing. G. CIAMPOLINI (Italy) Mr. Tor MIDTBO (Norway)
Col. D. CHRISSAITIS (Greece) Mr. A. D. WOOD (Canada)
Panel Executive: Lt. Col. J. A. WOIDA, USAF (June 1958 to present)
Past Members
Major H. AASS (Norway) Major H. NESSET (Norway)
Ing. G. CERZA (Italy) Major W. R1CKERT, USAF (United States)
Col. Dr. Ing. F. COLUMBA (Italy) Lt. Col. J. L. RIDLEY, USAF (United States)
Mr. Handel DA VIES (United Kingdom) Cdr. L. M. SATTERFIELD, USN (United States)
Ing. en Chef B. DAVY (France) Cdr. R. J. SELMER, USN (United States)
Lt. Col. G. B. DOYLE, USMC (United States) Mr. T. E. STEPHENSON (Canada)
Mr. R. R. DUDDY (United Kingdom) Brig. Gen. M. STRATIGAKIS (Greece)
Ing. en Chef J. FOCH (France) Major E. TUSTER (Norway)
Mr. N. E. G. HILL (United Kingdom) Brig. Gen. Fuat ULUG (Turkey)
Mr. P. A. HUFTON (United Kingdom) Major H. UNSAL (Turkey)
Panel Executives: Col. J. J. DRISCOLL, USAF (May 1952 - March 1954)
Cdr. Emil P. SCHULD, USN (September 1954 - June 1958)
Acting Panel Executive: Mr. R. A. WILLAUME (France) (April 1954 - August 1954)
RECORD OF REVISION
(This sheet is prepared for your convenience to keep
a record of number and date of revisions. )
REVISION NUMBER: DATE: ENTERED BY:
NATO
NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION
(Organisation du Traite de l'Atlantique Nord)
FLIGHT TESTING
VOLUME IV
INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEMS
Edited by
Enoch J. Durbin
Princeton University
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
The second edition of the AGARD Flight Test Manual is being brought out under
new "ground rules" which will undoubtedly go a long way towards improving the develop­
ment and distribution of new material in the years to come. This new edition published
by Pergamon Press will be available for public sale and will have the great advantage of
a well-organized procedure for getting out new material at regularly scheduled intervals
and an efficient system for ensuring that the users of the manual can receive this new
material when it is available. This new edition contains all of the additions and correc­
tions introduced into the first edition from time to time, as well as nearly seven hundred
pages of new material, bringing it up to date as of the fall of 1959.
COURT LAND D. PERKINS
Princeton University
28 September 1959
PREFACE
The Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development of
NATO found there was a great need for a flight test manual covering per­
formance, stability and control, and instrumentation of aircraft that could be
used by design, development or research engineers, test pilots, and instru­
mentation personnel of the participating nations in order to expand their
knowledge, improve their methods, and standardize their techniques. Although
various member nations of NATO have their own separate publications cover­
ing the subjects contained herein, AGARD recognized the need for the com­
pilation, revision, and enlargement of this material for the benefit of all
NATO nations.
The authors generously contributed their time and knowledge in the
writing of the various chapters. The high quality of their contributions to
this manual will insure its success and will further AGARD's mission in
the field of flight testing and instrumentation. AGARD was fortunate to find
in the person of Professor Courtland D. Perkins an editor of high competency
in the field, who was willing to devote time and effort to consolidate the in­
dividual contributions of the authors into an integrated technical publication.
To the authors and editors I wish to extend my gratitude and appreciation on
behalf of AGARD.
The members of the Flight Test Panel, together with AGARD Executives
Colonel John J. Driscoll and Mr. Rolland Willaume, and the AGARD Clerical
Staff are to be congratulated for their tireless efforts. I especially wish to
express my thanks to Messrs. Jacques Foch, Bernard Davy, and Jean Idrac,
of France; P. A. Hufton and N. E. G. Hill, of the United Kingdom; Lt. Col.
G. B. Doyle, United States Marine Corps; Mr. A. J. Marx, of the Netherlands;
Lt. Col. J. L. Ridley and Major Walter Rickert, of the United States Air
Force, all of whom participated in the final review of the text of this manual
and supplied valuable suggestions as to the suitability of the material.
THEODORE VON KARMAN
Chairman, Advisory Group
for Aeronautical Research
and Development
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The basic plan for this fourth volume of the AGARD Flight
Test Manual was originally conceived by a small group of Flight Test
Panel members interested in problems of flight test instrumentation.
Although several of these men are no longer on this panel, their
large effort to help create this volume must be acknowledged. These
men were Mr. N. E. G. Hill of the United Kingdom, Mr. J. Idrac of
France, and Major Walter Rickert of the United States. The actual
development of this volume from the original concept must be credited
largely to the efforts of Mr, Enoch J. Durbin, head of the Instrumenta­
tion Laboratory of Princeton University, who acted as Volume Editor
for this project.
I would like also to acknowledge the fine cooperation of all
members of the AGARD Flight Test Panel, past and present, who
have contributed to the development of this volume, and commend the
work of the various authors for their fine papers developed on a very
short time schedule. Further, I would like to acknowledge the work
of the Princeton Editorial group, including Mrs. A. Carnevale who
typed most of the rough and final drafts, and Mr. Robert Westover
who made all of the drawings involved, and finally the very able work
of the Carl L. Frederick staff who prepared the final manuscript for
publication.
Courtland D, Perkins
Princeton University
FOREWORD
It is well-known that the common grounds in adjacent fields of endeavor make possible
the use of information and techniques developed in one area to solve problems in another.
Electronic and electrical instruments often provide this common ground in many areas of
scientific effort. The most successful illustration of the use of electronic and electrical
instruments in the solving of problems in other fields can be found in the electrical computer.
This success is surely due to the ease with which electrical analogs can be created and op­
erated on.
In instrumentation, many techniques and much equipment is available for solving
present day experimental problems in many fields. To make optimum use of these techniques
and equipment, it is necessary to have an understanding of certain basic instrumentation
concepts. These concepts as applied to instrumentation problems in any particular field can
best be studied in a form which parallels the requirements of that particular field.
The first purpose of this volume in the AGARD Flight Test Series, therefore, is to
present certain instrumentation ideas in a manner convenient for the use of flight test people.
The second purpose is to bridge the gap between the first two volumes on methods
of flight testing for performance, stability, and control, and the third volume, the Instru­
mentation Catalog. In the preparation of Volume III it became evident quite early that
something was required to show how the various devices described in that compendium could
be put together to form a complete system. Numerous suggestions were made by contributors
to that volume as to how this might best be done. It is by the careful consideration of these
suggestions that this volume has been organized.
The material has been prepared to provide the aircraft flight tester with the informa­
tion required to appreciate the capabilities and limitations of the instrumentation techniques
which have evolved. It is not meant to contain sufficient information for detailed design of
a complete system, but rather to indicate some of the many alternatives possible in flight
instrumentation. It is felt that such an understanding would permit the flight tester to choose
a measurement system having maximum utility in any given flight program. This work should
serve as a guide to flight test instrumentation systems for use of flight test personnel in
establishing flight test programs. It is written primarily for persons not well-trained in
electronics with special emphasis toward promoting the systems point of view in considering
the problems of measurement iri flight.
The material is organized into four major groups. Group 1 is an introduction to the
flight test instrumentation system. The discussion is divided into two parts. In the first
part, the importance of considering the system as a whole is emphasized. In the second part,
the components of a flight data acquisition and reduction system are organized into funccional
categories. Within these categories, a comparison is made between the various data collec­
tion systems and the data reducing systems which are available. The similarities, advantages,
and limitations of each type of system component are noted. The significance of the funda­
mental properties of each device are discussed.
This discussion also serves to emphasize the importance of considering these com­
ponents as parts of an overall system. In this discussion, the process of recording is
considered but a midpoint between the sensing of the physical quantity and the determination
of the desired flight parameter. This idea stresses the importance of not separating the
data reduction system from the data collection system. In this connection, flight test instru­
mentation system properties are discussed with special emphasis on the forms of data
recording which are available. This includes the type of record and recording material, the
question of continuous versus time-shared recording, and the implications of a particular
form of record on the remainder of the system.
Group 1 concludes with a very general discussion of automatic data reduction
techniques.
The second major group is titled Data Collection. Here again the second group begins
with a general discussion of sensing and transducing techniques including instrument char­
acteristics with special emphasis on dynamic response considerations. It includes a de­
scription of the basic phenomena which have been utilized in the design of transducers. The
capabilities and limitations of transducers utilizing these phenomena is then given. Following
this, a detailed discussion is given concerning the problems involved in measurement of
many specific physical quantities. These quantities are those which we are most concerned
with in flight testing. Within each quantity, a description is given of the various transducers
which are available, indicating the region of maximum utility for each type.
The second part of Group 2 concerns itself with the subject of electric signal modifiers.
Such devices as amplifiers, filters, prerecord computers, demodulators, and time-sharing
apparatus are discussed.
The third part of this group is on recorders. Here the different types of recorders
and recording techniques are compared in great detail. The advantages, limitations, and
implications on the rest of the system of a particular recording technique are explained.
The fourth part of this group discusses radio link systems or telemetry. The various
techniques which have been used in telemetry are compared. The data collection group con­
cludes with a description of ground tracking systems including an evaluation of radar, photo-
theodolite, and camera techniques.
The third major grouping describes data reduction systems. Here the rapid develop­
ments in the fields of digital computers, analog computers, curve plotters, record readers,
analog-to-digital converters, and other data reduction aids are surveyed with special em­
phasis on their ability to speed up the laborious manual data reduction processes.
The final group in this volume consists of a collection of papers on certain aspects
of data analysis. These include a discussion of sources of measurement errors, both sys­
tematic and random, and methods of minimizing the effects of the errors in the measurement
system.
The final paper is on spectrum analysis techniques as applied to aeronautical
problems.
Enoch J. Durbin
Princeton University