Complete measurement system with on-line evaluation and logging as a means of quality assurance in aircraft maintenance

The article describes the system, which was set up as a mobile unit, together with its application, taking aircraft weighing for determination of the center of gravity as an example.

Safety is the prime consideration during aircraft servicing, so the test equipment employed is very important with regard to quality assurance. At Austrian Airlines in Vienna a system for the acquisition of measurement quantities using digital signal processing has been developed for taking measurements in the course of repair and maintenance work on commercial aircraft.

The central acquisition unit is the DMC 100% computer-controlled multi-channel digital amplifier system which is linked online to a computer. The acquired data is displayed on the monitor and printed out as a log in the form of measurements or in the evaluated form as tables or graphs.

With the application of various transducers for force, pressure, deformation and temperature, the multi-function concept enables a large proportion of the tests to be carried out that are required on an aircraft.