The method and practices of aircraft-level functional integration test in the lab for large jetliner

Abstract

Traditionally iron bird integration rig is a key test platform for testing and integration of mechanical systems for an aircraft under development. To fully verify the aircraft-level functions and requirements associated with mechanical system, avionics and electrical systems, a new method of testing is proposed based on a new pilot-in-the-loop integrated platform in the lab. The platform couples existing iron bird with copper bird and avionics integration rigs using state-of-the-art technology and provides good emulation of the physical and functional status for systems on-board. Examples of test cases performed on it are carefully studied in order to cover the aircraft’s safety and functional aspects before and after its first flight. The practices of the tests so far are also demonstrated in this report.