Evaluation of Several Control/Display Concepts for V/STOL Shipboard Landing

The relative merits of three flight control laws and two distinctly different Head-Up Display concepts have been evaluated in a piloted simulation for the task of landing a generic lift/cruise fan V/STOL aboard a DD-963 class destroyer. Results indicate that airwake turbulence in the vicinity of the landing pad dominates landing performance. A high level of vehicle augmentation, in the form of a translational relative velocity command/ relative position hold control law, was required to achieve acceptable pilot ratings in higher than 30 kts wind-over-deck conditions.