The book presents a synopsis of the main results achieved during the 3 year EU-project "Advanced Inflight Measurement Techniques (AIM)" which applied advanced image based measurement techniques to industrial flight testing. The book is intended to be not only an overview on the AIM activities but also a guide on the application of advanced optical measurement techniques for future flight testing. Furthermore it is a useful guide for engineers in the field of experimental methods and flight testing who face the challenge of a future requirement for the development of highly accurate non-intrusive in-flight measurement techniques.

The aim of this book is to briefly present modern optical measurement techniques to measure the thermal and flow parameters in-flight. Furthermore, advanced optical methods to measure the deformation of the surface of wings and rotor blades of aircraft will be presented. Readers will gain knowledge as a result of research conducted in the framework of the two European projects AIM and AIM2 and verified during the flight test on various types of aircraft. These have included the Evektor VUT100, Airbus A380, Dornier 228, Fairchild Metro II, Janus, PW-6, Piaggio P180 and Scottish Aviation Bulldog.

We describe here two innovative in-flight measurement techniques for onboard operation on atmospheric re-entry demonstrator vehicles like EXPERT or pre-X actually in study in Europe. The first one is the Electron Beam Fluorescence (EBF) technique which aims at characterising shock layer chemistry through measurements of density, rotational and vibrational temperatures of N2 and NO in low density hypersonic flows. These data are of great importance for the validation of the modelling tools commonly used for aerothermodynamics simulations, since they include a variety of thermo-chemical models yet to be fully validated with relevant flight data. The second measurement technique is a short range Rayleigh Lidar for measurements of upstream total density which is a primary variable in many aerodynamic key features like forces or heat flux.

Introduction to Flight Testing Introduction to Flight Testing Provides an introduction to the basic flight testing methods employed on general aviation aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles Introduction to Flight Testing provides a concise introduction to the basic flight testing methods employed on general aviation aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles for courses in aeronautical engineering. There is particular emphasis on the use of modern on-board instruments and inexpensive, off-the-shelf portable devices that make flight testing accessible to nearly any student. This text presents a clear articulation of standard methods for measuring aircraft performance characteristics. Topics covered include aircraft and instruments, digital data acquisition techniques, flight test planning, the standard atmosphere, uncertainty analysis, level flight performance, airspeed calibration, stall, climb and glide, take-off and landing, level turn, static and dynamic longitudinal stability, lateral-directional stability, and flight testing of unmanned aircraft systems. Unique to this book is a detailed discussion of digital data acquisition (DAQ) techniques, which are an integral part of modern flight test programs. This treatment includes discussion of the analog-to-digital conversion, sample rate, aliasing, and filtering. These critical details provide the flight test engineer with the insight needed to understand the capabilities and limitations of digital DAQ. Key features: Provides an introduction to the basic flight testing methods and instrumentation employed on general aviation aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. Includes examples of flight testing on general aviation aircraft such as Cirrus, Diamond, and Cessna aircraft, along with unmanned aircraft vehicles. Suitable for courses on Aircraft Flight Test Engineering. Introduction to Flight Testing provides resources and guidance for practitioners in the rapidly-developing field of drone performance flight test and the general aviation flight test community.