Some Historical Highlights of Turbine Engine Condition Monitoring Using Flight Data

This paper outlines highlights of the history of developments in the techniques of turbine engine performance monitoring using flight data. The steadily increasing importance of economic considerations in commercial air transport is expected to bring about extended usage of such engine performance monitoring practices in the future as the current equipment builds up time. In any case, the introduction into service of more complex and costly new aircraft is expected to dictate requirements for future continuing development of increasingly sophisticated techniques using flight data to monitor the performance of the advanced engines and associated systems installed in such aircraft.

It is, therefore, intended that this paper will help serve those who seek a general perspective on how flight data performance monitoring of turbine engines began, what major steps took place in its development, the extent to which it is in use today, and its prospects for the future.