Airbus Military reduces risk, cost and time of A400M flight test program with rugged Acra KAM-500 data acquisition units.

1. Airbus Military's A400M airlifter is a
cost effective, high-speed
turboprop aircraft specifically
designed to replace ageing C-130
Hercules and C-160 Transall fleets
currently in service around
the world.
The System
Airbus Military instruments the
A400M with a distributed Ethernet
DAS using Acra KAM-500 DAUs,
many in remote, high vibration
locations
The Results
• Reduction of wiring by 30%
• Simplified concurrent
engineering and re-useable
instrumentation architecture
• A flexible, low risk flight test
instrumentation system
Airbus Military reduces risk, cost
and time of A400M flight test program
with rugged Acra KAM-500 DAUs
A400M

2. COMMERCIAL OFF-THE-SHELF
MODULAR DESIGN
The System
The core of the onboard flight test instrumentation
is based on an innovative architecture using an
Ethernet switched network topology developed for
the A380 test program.
Though military aircraft do differ in data acquisition
requirements, the flexibility of Ethernet makes system
variations easy by using a switch backbone.
• The installation performs the data acquisition of
temperature, voltage and strain measurements
• Heavily instrumented test aircraft are fitted with 60 Acra
KAM-500 chassis in the engines and wings of the aircraft
• A master DAU provides time referencing from GPS for the
entire distributed network
• The Ethernet DAS outputs IENA (UDP) packets to onboard
switches and workstations for real-time analysis
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. WORKS ONCE
WORKS ALWAYS
“There has not been a lost
flight or aircraft grounded
on the A400M program
due to Acra equipment. It
has worked flawlessly from
the first flight.
The Results I
Reduction of wiring by 30%
Acra’s DAUs can withstand the harshest environments
thanks to their MIL-SPEC environmental ruggedness.
Their compact, low power design makes them ideal for
installing close to the sensors in locations that have
limited space such as engine nacelles or wings.
• Being close to the sensors reduced cabling by 30%
• It also meant there was less noise in the received
signal
• DAUs being installed outside the cabin freed up space
Tests were carried out on the A400M for empty loads,
drop cargo and ramp open scenarios. These were easier
to set up because Acra’s equipment resided in remote
areas as opposed to taking up critical cabin space.
Jean-Pascal Caturla
FTI Acquisition System
Team Leader
Airbus SAS

4. Acra equipment
gives good results in
spite of the severe
environmental
operating conditions.
The Results II
Simplified concurrent engineering and re-useable
instrumentation architecture.
Re-using the FTI system design from the A380 program
simplified the engineering costs for the definition and
production of the FTI system.
Knowledge gained from the A380 program enabled
Airbus to design connections to remote DAUs early on
using approximate measurement requirements, thus
speeding up the program.
The ability to use the same hardware in a high vibration
environment without modification and the savings in
the cost of training for people already familiar with the
system greatly reduces the overall cost.
“
HIGH QUALITY DATA
FLIGHT AFTER FLIGHT

5. UNPARALLELED LEVELS OF
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
The Results III
Reduction in overall flight test program time
through quick, reliable delivery of new products
When the need for a CAN bus monitor was
identified Acra developed the KAD/CBM module
in 12 months.
During the time it took to develop the new module,
Acra provided Airbus Military with a temporary system
so that the program could start without delay.
The confidence that Acra would deliver a working
solution in time was instilled by past success with Airbus,
the proven modular architecture of the Acra KAM-500,
and a track record of delivering 100+ modules.

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