AeroTest America 2008 to Include Flight Test Instrumentation Tutorial

FORT WORTH, TX, October 10-Show organizers of AeroTest America 2008 Expo & Forum, in cooperation with PCB Piezotronics and Professor Patrick Walter, Ph.D., representing Fort Worth’s Texas Christian University’s Engineering College, are offering a comprehensive four-hour flight test instrumentation tutorial. The tutorial is facilitated by Dr. Walter, a globally renowned measurement consultant and practitioner, as part of the “Flight Test Week” show programming focus. The flight test tutorial will be held on day one of the show, Tuesday, November 18, 2008, from 10:00 am through 2:00 pm at the Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas, and will be open to all delegates of the co-located Society of Flight Test Engineers Annual International Symposium, as well as exhibitors and attendees of AeroTest America.

The half-day class will illustrate the instrumentation challenges associated with acquiring physical measurements during flight test. Dynamic and electrical models for transducers will be discussed, as well as transducer mounting influences; cable associated errors; and necessary signal conditioning considerations. Data sampling guidance for resolution and rate will be provided, along with selection criteria for anti-aliasing filters. After signals are recorded, unique processes will be described, to enable documentation of the measurement’s system noise floor, as well as adequacy of system frequency capabilities for recorded signals. This latter process is titled "data validation," and is requisite for performing subsequent data accuracy analysis. Finally, a measurement system designer's checklist will be provided, as well as closing comments on the future of flight test instrumentation. This seminar will be conducted in an open classroom-style format, with a detailed overview of the types of instrumentation and related technologies used in this application environment.

The cost to attend this seminar is $100 USD per person, which includes seminar registration, lunch and handout materials. For more information, or to register, please visitwww.aerotestamerica.com.

About the Speaker:

Patrick L. Walter, Ph.D., P.E., professor of engineering at Texas Christian University (TCU) and senior measurement specialist at PCB Piezotronics, is the master class facilitator. Dr. Walter was employed for 30 years at Sandia National Laboratories, with the majority of his tenure spent managing flight, field and laboratory test activities. In 1995, Dr. Walter joined TCU, where he currently teaches and formerly served as Engineering Department Chair.

At TCU, Dr. Walter continues to actively interface with the aerospace and defense communities. At PCB Piezotronics, Dr. Walter consults on dynamic force, pressure and acceleration measurement applications supporting the aerospace, defense and other industries. Dr. Walter's technical articles and papers have appeared in numerous publications. He has served on and chaired various United States Department of Defense and Department of Energy committees, is active in many professional societies and teaches measurement system engineering through TCU's extended education department.

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