6th European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring. Dresden. Germany. 2012. Report. Traditionally, OLM systems have been tailored for each aircraft type based on what specific measurements and analysis tools are perceived to be required at the time. This paper focuses on the data acquisition technology used to measure the flight parameters and how it's stored. The benefits that arise from using modern Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) solutions versus traditional bespoke systems are examined. A case study of a HC-130H is introduced which has recently used such systems -this platform is topical given its proliferation to more than 60 nations with varying climates and the varied applications it encounters. Finally, new technologies that are finding their way into applications such as Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI), in particular Ethernet and other open standards, that will allow newer OLM systems to provide a better fatigue profile of the aircraft while driving down cost are discussed.