Wide-Angle, Low-Altitude Flight Simulator Vision System for Cockpit Research and Aircrew Training

A recent FAA con ference on helicopter simulation (Ref 1) concluded with a panel discussion in which the view was expressed by several corrrnercial helicopter operators that multi-million dollar flight simulators were too expensive for them to consider purchasing. Their training requirements are just as demanding as those of the military, albeit from different points of view, and the conference discussion concluded that a more cost effective approach may be to consider part task training. A similar situation exists in helicopter R and D. New technologies - such as speech recognition, artificial intelligence, and helmet mounted displays - are radically changing cockpit designs. Most of these innovations are aimed at permitting the crew to fly difficult missions successfully at very low altitude, by night as well as by day, and reduce the need to look down within the cockpit. By implication, a research simulator must therefore have a vision system capable of providing a wrap-around terrain image down to Nap-of-the-Earth (NOE) altitudes. Although such devices are available, they are very expensive and represent a significant capital investment. Hence there is a need for a lower cost approach.