There are many opinions as to what is a good flight test user interface, and there is some flexibility, especially if the UI will be used in a Telemetry room where preserving night vision (dark adapted sight) is not a concern. For UIs that will be used in flight, strict adherence to aircraft display design guidance is best.

Flight test aircraft can generate massive amounts of data, especially when audio and video streams are added to the acquisition system. Some data storage file types can be very inefficient. Consideration of the correct file type and correct storage data types is necessary to ensure that you can efficiently store and access your data.

The data processing needs of any flight test organization are fairly similar. Analog and Digital data will need to be acquired. Calibrations will be needed. Digital data must be decoded. Derived Parameters will need to be calculated. At least some level of digital filtering will likely be needed. Limit checking will be needed. Plots will have to be made by the hundreds. Batch processing will be needed. Data will have to be reviewed quickly, prior to the next flight during envelope expansion.

Good software is expensive, but bad software is far more expensive.

This is the first of a multi-part series on the application of LabVIEW in a Flight Test environment.