Aggregate Investigation of Rotorcraft Approach Profiles and Pilot Control Inputs: Shipboard versus Shore Landings

Shipboard rotorcraft operation places significant demand on pilot workload, which can be compounded by harsh environmental conditions. While prior research into characterizing pilot behavior and aircraft handling qualities during shipboard operations has relied on data from flight tests and manned flight simulations, the present work is focused on analysis of a large dataset of operational helicopter data, detailing both ship and shore landings, in order to improve the understanding of helicopter operations and provide the basis for a data-driven assessment of pilot activity. The operational data was classified into two datasets (shipboard landings and shore-based landings) through an automated analysis of the aircraft state parameters. Each dataset was analyzed to produce aggregate landing approach profiles and aggregate representations of pilot control input to facilitate characterization and comparison of the fleet norms for the two sets of landings. The aggregate landing approach profiles showed clear distinctions between the pilot techniques employed in the ship and shore landings, revealing much more uniformity in the execution of the ship landings. The aggregate pilot control input analysis also exposed striking differences in control input activity, with ship landings characterized by higher magnitude, higher frequency control input. Together, these results not only corroborate prior research into qualitative assessments of pilot workload through time-frequency representations, but they also provide a benchmark against which data from other landings (whether operational, flight test, or manned simulator) may be evaluated to determine the efficacy of training procedures or possible changes in rotorcraft handling qualities, particularly in the shipboard environment.