A High-Speed, Airborne Digital Data Acquisition System

This paper describes a transitorized airborne PCM/FM data acquisition system. The prototype version of this system has, in the past few months, been subjected to a flight evaluation program, and the final version is now in the process of assembly and test. The system is primarily digital; however, the technical areas of switching and amplification of low-level analog signals will be emphasized and system aspects will be discussed. The airborne system is part of a larger system designed to provide an accurate and reliable means of collecting information from a large number of transducers during aircraft flight testing, and to transfer this information in the most efficient manner to a digital computer for final data reduction. The Airborne portion collects, stores, and transmits flight-test data in digital form to the ground control record station trailer which monitors the progress of the flight test. The recorded data is then carried to the computer station which organizes and controls the selection of data in a form compatible with the requirements of an IBM type 704 computer.