Smartphone-Based Data Acquisition for an Undergraduate Course on Aircraft Flight Testing

Abstract

This paper describes a development in university-level flight testing courses that brings advanced instrumentation into common use. The basis for the potential proliferation of technology is smartphone-based data acquisition. Smartphones, now ubiquitous amongst the undergraduate student population, have an advanced suite of built-in sensors that are highly useful for aircraft flight test data acquisition. This paper describes the development of data acquisition techniques and flight testing methods for smartphones in a senior-level course on Aircraft Flight Test Engineering at The Ohio State University. Results from smartphones are compared with traditional data acquisition techniques as well as advanced data acquisition using more expensive instrumentation. The advantages and limitations of smartphone-based data acquisition are discussed in the context of a range of flight test investigations including airspeed calibration, stall, takeoff, climb, glide, and dynamic longitudinal stability. The educational impact of these advanced data acquisition methods is also discussed.