Aerospace & Aviation

The Gold Standard for Advanced Aviation Testing

For more than 50 years, we’ve viewed our clients’ projects as our own. Our dedicated Aerospace engineers, technicians and project managers are personally invested in your success. Working closely with your internal teams, GVIRL will meet your full range of requirements; addressing every last detail on time and within your budget. Our extensive experience, along with a vast physical infrastructure, allow us to solve even the most challenging problems.

GVIRL’ advanced aerospace testing capabilities have allowed our participation in every major space project since the inception of manned space exploration. GVIRL performs research and development, aerospace testing, and systems evaluations on a wide range of aircraft, vehicles, systems, and components. Aerospace testing capabilities include dynamic response, acoustic intensity, materials testing and modal analysis on aircraft structures and systems; evaluation of electronic and hydraulic systems for advanced aircraft and vehicles; severe environment and hazardous flow tests.

Both commercial and (governmental/DOD) public sector Aerospace clients rely on GVIRL to provide complete, integrated engineering services, including:

• Comprehensive testing capabilities, including dynamic, environmental, fuel, materials and more.
• A nationwide network of aerospace testing laboratories
• A full range of RTCA DO-160 testing requirements
• FAA and private aircraft industry development and evaluation programs
• Insight to address regulatory, safety and service considerations early in the design process.
• Formal review services by GVIRL Subject Matter Experts avoid potential problems or delays in your product development and release process.

Advanced Testing Capabilities

GVIRL is here to instill confidence in your civilian aviation or defense contractor customers; helping you meet regulatory and safety-of-flight requirements such as MIL-STD-810, RTCA DO-160 and MIL-STD-202. We can also coordinate complex testing programs across multiple facilities nationwide, saving you time and money while streamlining your path to market.

To help you develop safer, stronger and more precise products, we perform Aerospace tests including:

• Dynamic testing: Be it vibration, shock or acoustic noise, our testing labs are ready. Count on GVIRL and our range of dynamic testing equipment, including vibration tables and shakers capable of delivering up to 70,000 force/pounds, acceleration forces up to 750g and pyro-shock capabilities.
• Environmental simulation: Our environmental simulation chambers can test everything from individual devices to complete systems. We offer combined environment testing as well, including temperature, humidity, altitude and vibration, explosive atmospheres, sand and salt fog and more.
• Fuel testing: GVIRL assesses safety issues and the overall efficiency and performance of all-important fuel tank and fuel system components. We provide fuel icing and contamination of fuel testing, helium leak tests, flow analysis, functional/qualification testing and more. It’s everything you need to meet ARP 603, ARP 1383 and ISO 6772 standards.
• EMI/EMC: GVIRL operates more than 50 anechoic chambers at sites across North America and Europe providing extensive safety-of-flight and certification of avionics electronics. Our large selection of chambers allows us to perform HIRF testing and other vital functions with unique economies of scale. And in the GVIRL Pittsfield, MA lab, our Lightning experts perform sophisticated stroke and burst lightning simulations for aerospace partners like GE, Hamilton Sundstrand and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Aerospace Materials Testing

Materials testing for the aerospace industry requires the utmost in experience, responsibility and innovation. There are ongoing advancements in almost every part, component and assembly used in today’s aircraft. Fortunately, our wide range of materials testing services is backed by our more than 50 years of high-quality service to the aerospace sector.

Along with our professionalism and expertise, our network of ISO/IEC 17025 certified labs offers you full access to the types of services you’re looking for — including the testing of complete assemblies and oversized components that we regularly engineer customized test fixtures and specialized chambers for.

To ensure your product is compliant with RTCA DO-160 and other standards including all related FAA regulations, we offer the following types of materials testing services:

• Fatigue: Fatigue testing determines both the maximum load a material can endure before failure as well as the total repeated cycles of loading it can withstand before weakening. It helps aerospace manufacturers choose the right materials to survive anticipated stresses without suffering permanent structural changes.
• Impact: From windshields and nose assemblies to wings and engine housings, impact testing supplies crucial data on a given material’s ability to survive the energy from a measurable impact. Under typically destructive conditions, impact testing yields highly important results for suppliers of parts that are exposed to the elements and the possibility of impact.
• Flammability: Other than an aircraft’s ability to perform properly, its safety relies heavily on the use of qualified parts and materials that meet all approved safety regulations. One of the most important materials tests related to safety is flammability testing of the textiles, cushions and other manufactured goods found aboard today’s aircraft.
• Thermal: Often associated with the extreme temperature changes that satellites and spacecraft experience, thermal testing checks to see whether an intended material can survive the drastic thermal fluctuations it will meet once it’s put into service. Our thermal testing forms an integral part of our environmental testing services that subject materials to the actual conditions they’ll face once in use.
• Composition: Many of today’s aerospace assemblies are made up of composite materials, so it’s important for businesses to know exactly what materials make up these products — frequently resins, thermoplastics and/or carbon fiber assemblies. With composition testing, you know precisely what’s in the materials you’re intending to use.
• Shear: How much stress must a material survive before rupturing? While the answer to this question is most often found in compliance and regulation standards, the ability to ensure a material — including an adhesive — has the necessary strength for its intended purpose is best achieved through shear testing.
• Thermomechanical analysis: For materials like glass, polymers, ceramics and laminates, thermomechanical analysis — also referred to as TMA — applies a constant force to determine any linear expansion or phase change a material experiences due to such force.
• And more: At GVIRL, we know from experience that testing takes numerous forms. For this reason, we regularly offer customized materials tests to clients with very particular needs. If you don’t see the materials test you need listed here, don’t worry. Our testing offerings are too broad to list here in their entirety. Simply contact us for more information on all of our aerospace materials testing services.

Aerospace and Avionics Testing Services

Astronautics and propulsion testing: GVIRL’s acquisition of Wyle Laboratories’ San Bernardino location has greatly expanded the propulsion testing services we offer aerospace clients. From there, we are able provide thrust stand and exhaust duct rocket testing with up to 50,000-lbf of thrust (8,000-lbf for side or asymmetric loads). GVIRL San Bernardino also offers general component and sub-system assembly, cryogenic fuel storage and more.

Astronautics and Propulsion Testing

GVIRL’ propulsion testing services include:

• Thrust stand and exhaust duct rocket testing with up to 50,000-lbf of thrust (8,000-lbf for side or asymmetric loads).
• Thermal vacuum and space simulation
• Launch level acoustics
• General component and subsystem assembly
• Cryogenic fuel storage and more.

Satellite Systems (and other large-scale programs)

As a recognized leader in satellite and space hardware testing, GVIRL has collaborated on nearly every major U.S. space project, and partnered with industry leaders like Boeing, SpaceX, UTC Aerospace Systems and Meggitt. Our specialized teams offer total support, such as:

• Research and development.
• Testing and systems evaluations.
• Services for a wide range of individual devices, components and systems used in satellites and other large-scale programs.

Precision Cleaning Services

To help prevent oxidation, particle buildup and other issues that can affect performance, GVIRL offers an extensive portfolio of services related to aerospace testing and maintenance, featuring:

• Commercial oxygen cleaning
• Ultra-high purity processing
• Leak testing
• Particle and residue analyses

We can also supply specialty packaging that helps manage risk while storing and transporting sensitive components.

Supplier Inspection and Verification Services

GVIRL manages the complex global supply chains operated by our Aerospace partners. Through random auditing, we can ensure your suppliers are meeting your standards for quality; helping you avoid recalls and reliability issues that eat into your profits and your reputation.

Aerospace-Specific Testing and Certifications

A core component of our business for more than 50 years, GVIRL dedicated facilities are certified to ISO/IEC 17025 standards by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). We offer turnkey compliance solutions for MIL-STD-810, RTCA DO-160 and MIL-STD-202 standards, and we can assist with pre-compliance management for the international market.

The above-listed Aerospace Service categories are just the beginning. GVIRL also renders many other customer-defined engineering projects, which cover a broad range of specialized services.

Ready to get started? Request a Free Quote to have our engineers review your requirements and generate an estimate.