Pilot Evaluation of a Real-Time Free Wake Model in a Navy Rotorcraft Fleet

Accurate modeling of rotorcraft aerodynamics and induced flow fields in real-time is important for high fidelity simulation and training. The challenge is heightened for naval rotorcraft flight trainers that must accurately represent the complex aerodynamic interactions between the aircraft and disturbances from the shipboard environment. To address this challenge, a high-fidelity free-wake induced velocity software module that can model coupled rotor wake/ ship airwake interactions has been developed, integrated, validated, and evaluated through analysis and piloted simulations. Use of the free wake model also has allowed vibration cues to be generated that reflect the underlying operating state of the rotor system as opposed to a simulation effect. The free wake induced velocity model was incorporated into a naval rotorcraft fleet trainer and compared with the baseline model during a pilot evaluation session. This paper describes the execution and results of this pilot evaluation.