A PILOT-IN-THE-LOOP ANALYSIS OF SEVERAL KINDS OF HELICOPTER ACCELERATION/DECELERATION MANEUVERS

It is becoming increasingly convenient to measure and analyze directly the control strategy of pilots involved in performing authentic tasks – both in simulators and in flight. As a result, it is new possible to begin compiling a catalog of engineering descriptions of various flight tasks, the associated piloting technique, and the perceptual pathways involved. This paper describes how a certain class of helicopter flight tasks, namely acceleration/ deceleration maneuvers, can be quantified and put to use in the fields of handling qualities, flight training, and evaluation of simulator fidelity. The three specific cases include the normal speed change maneuver, the nap-of-the-earth dash/quickstop, and the decelerating approach to hover. All of these maneuvers share common generic features in terms of pilot adaptation and mathematical description; yet each differs in terms of the essential feedback loop structure, implications for handling qualities requirements, and simulator fidelity criteria.