Investigation of Pilot Inceptor Metrics as Correlates to Qualitative Workload

Advances in control system and augmentation technologies in the recent decades have allowed major advances in both the safety and mission effectiveness of military aircraft. These technologies have also resulted in an increase in the complexity of the development and certification process, partially due to the myriad of new "knobs" that can be turned. At the same time, the primary means of Handling Qualities evaluation remains subjective, via pilot assigned ratings, unchanged since Cooper & Harper published their scale in 1967. This effort sought to collect a large quantity of fundamental piloted simulation data, primarily to establish if correlation exists between qualitative rating scales and previously developed inceptor workload metrics. Secondarily, different types of classical Handling Qualities degraders were used to determine if different inceptor metrics were better able to identify them. Results indicate that most pilot subjects tested show at least some correlation between qualitative ratings and quantitative inceptor metrics, however few showed strong enough correlation to consider usurping the role of qualitative scales. Further, it showed that to achieve any meaningful correlation, treating pilots as individuals is necessary, but not sufficient, as a few pilots demonstrated poor or no correlation.