Flight testing cost reduction: Focus on military aircraft re-testing

Leyre Cabrera Blanco, Airbus Defence and Space, Spain

Abstract

There are many sources of errors and extra costs in flight testing. One of the major contributors to flight testing cost is the significant increase in the required resources and personnel (FTE, ground support, fuel… etc), compared to other test activities.
Associated with this fact, additional sources of errors are encountered, which might potentially lead to a loss of accuracy or efficiency on the tests, producing further extra costs (repetition of tests, analyses…). The main objective of this article is to analyze how to reduce the number of re-tests, triggered by failures occurred during the preparation of the flight operation.

The article first introduces the topic by describing the context, in this case the military environment, and the differences with flight tests on commercial aircraft. Afterwards, the root cause analysis for the repetition of tests is explained. Derived from it, potential solutions for the root causes are elicited. The implementation of
these solutions seeks for a reduction of the number of re-tests, although they imply certain advantages and disadvantages which are analyzed. Finally, the article ends with some recommendations and conclusions on how to reduce the repetition of tests, and thus lower the total cost of the test campaign.

A reduction of the number of hours of re-testing drives to an implicit decrease of the flight testing cost. It will also imply efficiency enhance and the increase of synergies between the agents involved. Finally, additional cost reduction opportunities are discussed in this article, as for instance, virtual engineering and simulation. All the analyses are based on the primary principle of maintaining the safety margins.