777-200LR Flight Test Journal: Archives

15 July 2005

Fltviz

Frederic Lambert, senior simulation software engineer

Peter Ryer, senior flight visualization engineer

This is unusual to talk about in a written journal, but we're going to describe a powerful tool we use in flight testing that allows us to "see" with accuracy and detail exactly what the 777-200LR looks like during its test maneuvers.

This is a new level of software tools called the Desktop Tool Suite (DTS). DTS is a set of PC-based applications that communicate either with our validated engineering simulation or directly to flight test data. DTS can use stored data from completed flight tests, or it can use live, real-time data as a flight test is underway.

Take a look at a file that shows a typical flight test maneuver: a wind-up turn. You'll need a Windows Media Player v. 9 to run it. Get a player here. 300k Broadband Speed. 56k Lowband Speed.

As you can see when you run the video, we can tailor the scenery around the airplane, even the aircraft's paint job or livery. We have a VCR-like control for playback and we use a flight visualization tool we call "fltviz" to visualize the airplane. We're able to see around the airplane, or we can show any view you might want to see, inside and out.

Now that's all fancy and nice, but what you really want to see is the maneuver being tested. This is a wind-up turn and the software is actually showing us the airplane slowly turning. In this scene you're looking at the plane from the outside as it turns.

Another toolset of the DTS is the Displays Software. This allows users to see the pilot displays, such as the primary flight display. Seeing the pilot instruments from the back of the airplane gives the flight test engineers a sense of situational awareness as well as information from the displays that may not otherwise be available. In a nutshell, DTS increases system understanding. It's a set of visual software tools for aircraft simulation testing and analysis. DTS augments the tabular and strip charts data that is recorded and monitored on flight tests.

Remember, we can connect the DTS programs to live, real-time data from the airplane while a flight test is under way. Engineers in the back of the flight test airplane can use this application on their laptops and see what the airplane actually looks like performing the maneuver. This gives the flight test engineers amazing visibility as the flight conditions and maneuvers are happening. It helps them determine the maneuver's quality and if they think they see something that's not quite right, this software helps determine what may be wrong.

And the amazing thing is that these applications run on standard laptops and operating systems. The data can be shared over a standard network and can be made available to engineers throughout Boeing. That's the key. We've taken a low-cost approach and have re-hosted our powerful software to use PCs. And now it's extremely portable. In fact, portable enough for flight test engineers to carry onto the airplane. And portable enough to go along on the world tour of the 777-200LR.