A FULL MISSION SIMULATION DATA SYSTEM

A system to automatically collect data from the full mission simulation of a complex rotorcraft system and to generate a statistically significant sample data set that is used to compute measures of performance has been implemented at Sikorsky Aircraft. As part of the Light Helicopter (LH) Demonstration Validation Program, this data system was successfully exercised to provide mission data from nearly forty simulation experiments. Data collected from these full-mission piloted simulations was used, for the first time in the helicopter industry, to assess performance of a rotorcraft system before the aircraft was actually built. This paper describes the types of data that are collected and provides insight into how these data are used to assess the design of a system that is simulated. It presents details on the two aspects of this comprehensive data system: automatic data collection and interactive data reduction.