Evaluation of ADS-33E Yaw Bandwidth and Attitude Quickness Boundaries

The ADS-33 handling qualities specification was developed as part of the Comanche program throughout the 1980's, providing a modern standard for handling qualities requirements for military rotorcraft. The current version (ADS-33E-PRF) was published in 2000, and an update (ADS-33F) is planned for release in 2016. As part of this update process, the yaw axis requirements are being reviewed to ensure that the specification boundaries are appropriately located. This paper presents modelling and simulation of the relationships between key yaw axis parameters, establishing theoretical boundaries based on an ideal pilot. Verification was conducted with a flight test focussed on the evaluation of bandwidth and attitude quickness boundaries for cargo/utility aircraft, featuring the heading capture and Hover Turn MTE (Mission Task Element). Based on these results, updated boundaries for ADS-33F are proposed for the 'All Other MTEs' category. Additional analysis was performed to suggest updates for the Target Acquisition and Tracking boundaries, which should be verified with further flight test.