Flight-testing of the A330 MRTT, the first production aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), has continued at a fast pace and initial handling and performance evaluation is as predicted. All aerodynamic tests for the A330 MRTT have been completed successfully, as well as testing of handling quality, performance, loads, autopilot and anemometry. An important feature of the process included flutter testing and the flight envelope has been successfully cleared. In the next few days, the Civil Certification flight tests with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are scheduled to be performed. As part of the tests hose stability data gathering has been completed and pre-contact position trials conducted with an F-18 fighter aircraft. Within this complex and strategic system, EADS has entrusted GTD for the development of a critical subsystem, the “Engineering Simulator”. This system is in charge of 3 main functions: - The hardware for data acquisition. The MRTT mission requires more than 700 critical information’s (analog/digital acquisition cards, joysticks, buttons, power device and actuators). - Simulation is also Stimulation. GTD’s software is in charge of simulating the fuel system, hydraulic system and electric system of the aircraft. - The visual system: This system is in charge to interface with both, the pilots and the MRTT mission controller. This visual environment is fully powered by 2 graphical engines, and represents the status of important processes the navigation display, the Primary Flight Display, and the refueling control & command console.
