Towards Handling Qualities Requirements for High-Speed Compound Rotorcraft

Handling qualities requirements for future high-speed rotorcraft are investigated. Two Mission Task Elements (MTEs) are developed and tested in piloted simulations of a notional winged compound rotorcraft with a full authority Non-linear Dynamic Inversion (NLDI) controller. The combat break turn maneuver was modified from a previously developed break turn MTE, and a formula for time-to-complete was derived to separate rotorcraft performance properties from the handling qualities. A decelerating approach MTE was modified from the current MTE in ADS-33F to use a Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) cue. Piloted simulations were performed with variations in the roll and pitch axis command filters. Results showed that the break turn is suitable for identifying handling qualities deficiencies in the roll axis. The performance criteria for the proposed decelerating approach MTE need to be tightened to better identify handling qualities deficiencies in the pitch axis.