Browse Topic: Displays
Piloted evaluations form a critical part of Handling Qualities (HQ) testing. Military rotorcraft standard ADS-33 outlines the widely accepted approach to perform HQ testing, including both methods to determine predicted and assigned HQs (Ref. 1). Recently, ADS-33 has been replaced with MIL-DTL-32742, which includes updates to previously defined criteria and tasks (Ref. 2). Assigned HQs are awarded using short-look tasks, so-called Mission Task Elements (MTEs), stylized to represent mission requirements. Test courses focus on external visual cues, used by the pilot to judge position. Setting up external courses is usually expensive and may not be feasibly possible. The MCRUER (Means of Compliance Requirements for UAM Evaluations and Ratings) system intends to support HQ evaluations, replacing physical test courses using virtual displays. Four MTEs were successfully demonstrated in flight by three pilots using a variable stability rotorcraft. HQ evaluations were performed both using
The SAE Recommended Practice is intended for use in measuring the radius of curvature (ROC) of spherical convex mirrors.
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ABSTRACT Current and future military rotary-wing operations are anticipated to take place more frequently in urban environments. This will increase likelihood for the presence of obstacles along the flight path. In order to maintain safe and effective flights, cueing for obstacle detection and subsequent avoidance is needed. A study was completed to examine the utility of providing obstacle avoidance cues using multimodal cueing. Three different cueing configurations consisting of combinations of visual, auditory, and tactile cues that provided obstacle avoidance information were examined to evaluate their effect on pilots' situational awareness and workload. Pilots performed low-level flights in a dense urban area with obstacles present. Initial support for multimodal displays of obstacle information was found.
Helicopters are routinely used to transport crew to and from maritime wind farms. Inclement weather situations and demanding tasks put a high workload on pilots during these missions. This paper describes two test campaigns assessing the utility of a low cost Head-mounted display (HMD) to reduce workload for commercial maritime operations. This system was implemented within the Air Vehicle Simulator (AVES) at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Three tasks were flown with experienced offshore pilots, performed in a realistic scenario. Independent subjective assessments of both workload and situational awareness were obtained. Results from the studies show that the overall workload for all missions decreased when using the HMD. Opinions regarding overall benefit and advantages of the system were found to vary between pilots and missions.
This paper reports on the integration, test and evaluation of a Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) system installed on an Airbus H145 (BK117 D-2) civil certified helicopter. The DVE system consists of a LiDAR sensor, an EVS camera and a head-tracked helmet mounted display system (HMD) integrated into the onboard HELIONIX® digital avionics suite. The DVE system combines sensor enhanced and synthetic elements of the external scene and provides an accurate representation of the real world for visual reference and safe manoeuvring in DVE. All systems were prototypically integrated into the H145 demonstrator in a serial-like manner, allowing for a potential serialization of the system. Extensive flight trials were conducted focusing on military as well as on civil HEMS missions and were used to verify the intended function and evaluate installed DVE system performance. The activities described herein are partially performed in the frame of a research project supported by the German Federal
This paper presents preliminary results of a pilot-in-the-loop (PIL) study of different cueing designs to reduce pilot workload in rotorcraft shipboard landings. The participants were tasked with flying an approach to touchdown on the deck of an Arleigh Burke Flight IIA class Destroyer under both day visual flight rules (VFR) and night-unaided, zeroillumination conditions. For each condition, the participants were presented with three different cue types. For the day iterations these were a generic military standard heads up display (HUD), a ship fixed tunnel in the sky (tunnel), and a virtual flight lead cueing system (FLCS). The zero-illumination night condition was deemed impossible to land with only the HUD, so it was replaced with a combination of the tunnel and FLCS for the purpose of gaining initial feedback on combining elements of different systems. Terminal landing constraints (location, heading, and impact velocity) were used as measures of pilot performance, the NASA Task
Rotor/wing interactions in tiltrotor aircraft are complex in nature. Using an XV-15 rotor on a full-span wing with a symmetric NACA 0023 airfoil section, the mechanisms of rotor/wing interactions are investigated for a tiltrotor aircraft cruising at 220 knots. Numerical computations are performed using HPCMP CREATE™-AV Helios code. Due to the rotor/wing interference, rotor and wing loadings display a 3-per-rev harmonic response. The mean rotor thrust and power are influenced by the interference. Due to the interference, the rotor thrust increases 12.7 percent and the rotor power increases 8.1 percent, most of which is due to wing thickness interference. The mean wing lift and drag are also influenced by the interference. Due to the interference, the wing lift increases 0.7 percent and the wing drag reduces 21.9 percent. These interference effects are confined to the high speed tiltrotor airplane mode.
Two sets of visual symbology in conjunction with two display types (helmet mounted and panel mounted) were examined for their usability in maintaining flight performance within a simulated degraded visual environment. Eight rated Army Aviators completed a series of flights using the two symbology sets with each display type. Flight performance data was collected and used to assess performance resulting from symbology and display used. Overall, the assessment found one symbology set to result in better performance across several phases of flight and no significant differences due to display type, although a few interactions between symbol set and display type are noted.
Helicopter military missions such as combat search and rescue, medical evacuation and landing on unprepared sites can involve operating in hostile, low-altitude, and degraded visual environments (DVE). These conditions may significantly reduce the pilot's capability to use the natural out of the window (OTW) perceptual cues, increase workload and increase the risk of collision with terrain and natural or man-made obstacles. In modern helicopter cockpits, synthetic vision systems (SVSs) can employ conventional nonconformal two-dimensional (2D), egocentric three-dimensional (3D) conformal symbology (CS) and laser detection and ranging (LADAR)/ radio detection and ranging (RADAR)/ forward looking infrared (FLIR) imagery support guidance and control, especially during operations in DVE. Although 3D CS can decrease pilot workload, it can also produce attentional tunneling (cognitive capture) and may not provide maximally effective depiction of the environment around the helicopter. In this
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