CWC-AE ATR user story
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ATR uses Acra KAM-500 equipment for regional aircraft certification programs. The modular Acra system was selected for its flexibility and ability to reconfigure quickly to meet testing needs. It helped ATR deliver its certification programs on time. The reliable Acra equipment accumulated over 500 hours of flight testing data without any loss of data or bugs. Its commercial off-the-shelf design also lowers costs and risks for current and future aircraft programs.
CWC-AE ATR user story
- 1. ATR is the leading manufacturer of 50-to-74-seat regional turboprop aircraft in the world with their aircraft accumulating more than 20 million flight hours. The System Two 13U Acra KAM-500 chassis were selected along with several modules including Ethernet backplane controllers, analog and digital modules, synchro to digital converters and ARINC-429 and dual port Ethernet/AFDX bus monitors. The Results • New team deliver their first flight testing program on time • Future proof, low risk solution for current and future programs • A reliable new test system suitable for multiple aircraft platforms ATR uses Acra KAM-500 equipment for regional aircraft certification ATR42-600 & ATR72-600
- 2. COMMERCIAL OFF-THE-SHELF MODULAR DESIGN The System Two 13U Acra KAM-500 chassis were selected along with several modules including • Ethernet backplane controllers • Analog modules (with and without excitation) • Synchro to digital converters • ARINC-429 and dual port Ethernet/AFDX bus monitors • Bi-level input modules with counters and time-tagging • GPS/IRIG time input. This was only the second time that AFDX was used on an aircraft and the comprehensive support in the Acra KAM-500 system was important for the success of the project. The Acra KAM-500 system was fixed and reconfigured several times during the flight test campaign to accommodate specific tests. Typically it took 30min to re-configure the system with 48,000 parameters after receiving the Interface Control Document (ICD). Acra KAM-500 Lowers Risk Proven on every platform type in all environmental conditions COTS hardware with short delivery times Reduces Cost of Ownership Reduced inventory of spares due to common product line Lower installation, setup and maintenance requirements Modular design greatly extends system lifetime FTI by Design Designed to minimize the data transfer time from sensor to screen Guaranteed predictable data Simultaneous sampling occurs across the complete system
- 3. HIGH QUALITY DOCUMENTATION & RAPID SUPPORT RESPONSE “Without the ease of use of the Acra system ATR would not have been able to take on the flight testing in the tight timeframe available. The Results I New team deliver their first flight testing program on time The ATR72-600 completed its flight test program and gained certification on time and, at the time of writing, the ATR42-600 is on schedule to do the same. The inherent adaptable design of the Acra KAM-500 significantly reduced the time required to change configurations. At one stage in the program there was a change in the avionics software and an evolution of the wiring. The FTI team planned for 3-4 weeks to make the changes and validate the new system set up. It actually took only one day to make the change and two more days to complete the validation processes. Damien Roujas Flight Test Engineer ATR
- 4. ACRA CONTROL always has an engineer on hand that knows our system well, speaks our language and responds without delay. The excellent level of support is one of the reasons we keep coming back. The Results II Future proof, low risk solution for current and future programs. The availability of a commercial off-the-shelf solution from Acra ensured that the solution could be delivered quickly and, in the event of changing scope, quickly altered to ensure time-slips were avoided. Acra’s experience with Ethernet lowered the risk of ATR using these emerging aerospace technologies (e.g. AFDX and Airbus’s IENA solution). The initial system configuration of the Acra KAM-500 hardware was based on a PCM system. During the program this was upgraded to Ethernet . From a hardware perspective, the only action that was required to convert from PCM into Ethernet was to replace a single module and add an Ethernet switch. “ HIGH QUALITY DATA FLIGHT AFTER FLIGHT
- 5. WORKS ONCE WORKS ALWAYS The Results III A reliable new test system suitable for multiple aircraft platforms ATR found that Acra was the only company that offered true plug and play hardware where all that was required was to plug in a new module in chassis, run discover and program it. This facilitated simplified system changes, for example, to move directly to using the IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol or to using AFDX. ATR never encountered any failure in the Acra hardware in 500 hours of flight tests with no bugs. The system never resulted in any data being lost.
- 6. For more information visit www.cwc-ae.com Curtiss-Wright Controls Avionics & Electronics cwc-ae@curtisswright.com 665 North Baldwin Park Boulevard City of Industry, CA 91746, USA Phone: 626-851-3100 Landscape House, Landscape Road Dublin 14, Ireland Phone: +353-1295-1264