Intelligent Data Retrieval and Analysis Tool for the Testing and Evaluation of Aircraft and Rotorcraft in Proximity to Ships

Testing and Evaluation (T&E) is crucial in determining the operational limits of air vehicles aboard various classes of ships. The cost of conventional testing of air vehicles and ships continues to escalate in a world of tightening project budgets; therefore, the required flight testing time must be decreased by pursuing efforts which optimize the use of existing and future data and that support other approaches such as analytic models and wind tunnel tests. The proposed work will create an intelligent data retrieval and analysis tool which supports real and virtual testing of aircraft and rotorcraft aboard various classes of ships. The tool will assist the T&E engineer in the development and implementation of test plans for the evaluation and certification of aircraft and rotorcraft both in and out of the vicinity of ships. It will operate over a network allowing geographically dispersed test team members access during all test phases, and it will provide access to externally distributed data. The proposed tool will incorporate a knowledge-based system to identify and evaluate relevant data sets pertinent to a specific task, and data query methods will be used for data extraction.