Evaluation of a Short Haul Civil Tiltrotor SH(CT) in Emergency Go-Around - A MIDAS Simulation

Tiltrotor aircraft combine the speed and range of a turboprop with the ability to take off and land in a vertical mode like a helicopter. These aircraft will transport passengers from city center to city center and from satellite airports to major hub airports to make connections to long range travel. The Short Haul Civil Tiltrotor (SH(CT)) being studied by NASA is a concept 40 passenger civil tiltrotor (CTR) transport. The Man- machine Integration Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) was used to evaluate human performance in terms of crew procedures and pilot workload for a simulated CTR on a steep (low noise) approach to a vertiport. The scenario for the simulation was a normal approach to the vertiport that is interrupted by an emergency go-around at the landing decision point. The simulation contrasted an automated discrete nacelle control mode with a fully manual nacelle control mode for the go-around. The MIDAS simulation showed that pilot task loading during approach and the emergency go-around is high and that pilot workload is near capacity throughout. The emergency go-around in manual nacelle mode was the most demanding, resulting in additional time requirements to complete tasks.