Manned Simulation Studies Of Aircrew Workload In The F-15 Dual Role Fighter

This report describes a man-in-the-loop flight simulation program conducted by the McDonnell Aircraft Company (McAir) to support crew system development of the F-15 Dual Role Fighter (DRF). The program had two primary objectives: 1) develop, fabricate, and refine the F-15 DRF crew station configuration; and 2) demonstrate that DRF mission scenarios could be accomplished within manageable levels of aircrew workload. To meet these objectives, a two-phase simulation program was conducted. In Phase I, aircrew operations were evaluated in baseline crew stations during task-intensive portions of the DRF mission. Results led to changes in the baseline hardware configuration, information displays, and operating procedures that were then tested during the second phase. In Phase II, four aircrews flew a total of 55 DRF missions in the refined crew stations. Each mission simulated night in-weather conditions and included a 300' terrain following profile, stringent time-over- target and navigation requirements, two air-to-ground weapon deliveries, multiple air interceptor engagements and SAM threats. Crew workload was quantified in terms of predefined mission performance criteria, and was examined under both fully operational and degraded system conditions. Results supported three primary conclusions: 1) crews accomplished both DRF mission roles within manageable workload levels under fully operational conditions; 2) the crew systems were flexible and allowed a variety of individual operating techniques by different crewmen; and 3) system operations were easy to learn.