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Software group develops new software and hardware for B-1 test equipment

  • Published
  • By Ron Mullan
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE --  When your car's check engine light comes on, you take it to your local garage or dealership and a mechanic hooks up a diagnostic machine to your car's computer and within minutes has a readout on all your car's systems and in most cases, can fix the problem quickly.
   When it comes to testing the various systems on the B-1 bomber, maintainers use diagnostic machines too, but unlike a garage, instead of hooking the machine to the plane, the Line Replaceable Units, or "Black Boxes" are removed from the plane and taken to a back shop for testing and repair. If the field unit can't fix the LRU, it is sent to the depot at Tinker.
   Providing field units with the capability to conduct testing of B-1 bomber LRUs falls to the 76th Software Maintenance Group's 556th Software Maintenance Squadron who is responsible for maintaining B-1 test software that is used on automatic test equipment.
   As with most equipment, over time, the automatic test equipment being used at the Tinker depot and at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas and Ellsworth AFB, S.D. intermediate shops became harder to maintain and parts were harder yet to come by.
   "The decision was made by the B-1 System Program Manager at Tinker AFB to replace the old automatic test equipment," said Todd Bigham, chief engineer and program manager, 556th SMXS.
   The new test equipment procured by the B-1 SPM is called the Advanced Digital Test Station. In addition to procuring the new test equipment, the B-1 SPM contracted with 76th SMXG, 556th SMXS to re-host the black box test programs used on the old test equipment to work on the new ADTS.
   "In order to be able to test LRUs on the new ADTS test equipment, software programs had to be developed as well as fabrication of new hardware interface test adapters to enable the "Black Boxes" to be hooked up to the automatic test equipment. Also, new technical orders would have to be written to guide maintainers in using the new test software to test and repair B-1 black boxes," said Mr. Bigham.
   Together, the software, hardware and technical order make up a Test Program Set. In FY05 the project began with 17 test program sets. 19 more were added in FY06, and 13 more in FY07. This created a spike in workload and necessitated the 556th being augmented by its sister squadrons the 555th SMXS and 559th SMXS.
   Some 30 electronic engineers, software developers, project leads and system programmers from all three squadrons are currently working on this project. This is enough personnel to work the FY05 and FY06 projects simultaneously.
   "After the engineers have developed the test software and the interface test adapter hardware during the initial phase of the project, the project moves into the integration phase where they make sure it all works together on the automatic test equipment. The project engineers test the new software and interface test adapter hardware components of the TPS to make sure all the functional tests can be executed on the new ADTS test equipment," said Mr. Bigham.
   Once the integration phase is completed acceptance testing begins followed by installation of the new program test set in the field.
   During December 2007 and January 2008 several projects successfully completed acceptance testing. Thai Le of the 559th SMXS successfully completed acceptance testing of the Core RPM/Nozzle Position Indicator TPS. Allison Wilson and Anhthu Vo of the 556th SMXS successfully completed acceptance testing of the Control and Display Set TPS. This TPS tests five B-1 LRU's. Jim Danscuk of the 555th SMXS successfully completed acceptance testing of the Vertical Situation Display Indicator TPS.
   "This March we will have these first three TPSs installed at Dyess AFB Texas, Ellsworth AFB, S.D. and here at the Tinker depot with most of the remaining FY05 TPSs to the field by July 2008," said Mr. Bigham.