ADS-33C FLIGHT TEST MANEUVERS VALIDATION IN A DEGRADED VISUAL ENVIRONMENT

A flight test project was conducted at Ames Research Center on the Army/NASA Flying Laboratory for Integrated Test and Evaluation (FLITE), an AH-1S Cobra Surrogate Trainer for the AH-64A Apache. The purpose of the project was to refine and validate the U.S. Army Aeronautical Design Standard (ADS)-33C flight test maneuvers in a degraded visual environment, in this case at night. Test pilots used the thermal-imaging Pilot Night Vision System (PNVS) and light-intensifying Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) to evaluate the Hover, Hover Turn, Landing, Pirouette, Sidestep, and Acceleration/Deceleration maneuvers in full-moon and starlight conditions. Twenty recommendations were made to clarify the maneuver descriptions, revise the performance standards, refine the cueing methods, and provide compliance-checking guidelines. These recommendations have already been incorporated into the proposed Tri-Service Military Standard, Rotorcraft Flight and Ground Handling Qualities, General Requirements for, which was developed based on ADS-33C.