Overview
For several years Calspan has been involved
with many types of data recorders for both land
and air vehicles. These recorders measure key
operating parameters including vehicle acceleration,
angular rotation, position, speed, heading,
and can communicate directly with the vehicle's
databus (e.g., J1587/1708, J1939, CAN, etc.).
Mini
Flight Data Recorders (MFDRs)
Calspan has developed a mini flight data recorder
(MFDR) as a low-cost alternative over flight
data recorders that cost much more, and are
much bulkier than other found in the industry.
The MDFR is ideal for recording the performance
of small aircraft and can be used to study aircraft
and pilot behavior.
MDFR Key Features:
Completely Self-Contained
Development and Environmental Testing
Completed
12VDC and 28 VDC Versions Available
Compact (3.5 x 5 x 8 in)
Low Weight (4 lb)
Uses Removable CompactFlash Data Storage
(Up to 512MB)
Data Reduction Utilizing Matlab/Simulink
Programmable Sample Rate
50 to 200 Hz
Higher Rates Available on Request
Primary Parameter List:
Nz (+/- 10 g)
Nx, Ny (+/- 2g)
q, p, r (±150°/s or ±300°/s)”.
Airspeed
Altitude
Interface with Other Sensors:
GPS/DGPS
Magnetometer (3 axis)
Expansion Capabilities:
30 User defined (0-5V) analog inputs
available on existing system (e.g., for temperatures,
pressures, throttle, RPM, etc.)
RS-232 Channels: 5 Tx & 7 Rx
Interface with Telemetry data systems
available as well
Environmental Specifications:
Temperature
Operational Temperature Range -40°C
to +85°C
Vibration
Up to 2kHz @ accelerations shown in
table below
Tested in 3 orthogonal axis
All slopes are ±6dB/Oct
Frequency(Hz)
Acceleration (g2/Hz)
10-40
0.024
40-51.7
0.024-0.04
51.7-500
0.04
500-2000
0.04-0.004
Shock
6 g shocks with 11 ms pulse duration
Humidity
10-90%, Non-condensing
Altitude
Up to 30,000 feet
System Accuracy:
Gyro / Spin Rate
Resolution: 0.096 deg/s/bit
Noise: ±0.5 °/sec at Room
Temperature
Offset: ± 0.1 °/sec at
Room Temperature
Acceleration
Resolution:
+/- 2 g accel (nx, ny) è
0.0038 g/bit
+/- 10 g accel (nz) è 0.012
g/bit
Noise: ±0.002 g at Room
Temperature
Offset: ±0.01 g at Room
Temperature
Analog Input Voltages
Resolution: 1.22mV/bit
Noise: ±5mV or ±0.1%
Full Scale at Room Temperature
Offset: ±15mV or ±0.3%
Full Scale at Room Temperature
Temperature Variation: ±1% Full
Scale from -40°C to +85°C
MDFR Installed in a Bonanza Aircraft
Heavy Vehicle Event Data Recorders (HVEDRs)
Calspan is heavily involved with the development
of comprehensive functional specifications and
requirements for crash event data recorders
for heavy (commercial) vehicles. Calspan has
previously worked with federal agencies to develop
these documents, some of which were used as
input for an IEEE standard for Motor Vehicle
Event Data Recorders (P1616). Calspan's
current focus is on the development of the set
of SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) standards
that focus specifically on the Heavy Vehicle
Event Data Recorders (HVEDR, SAE J2728).
