Adaptive Hexapod Simulator Motion Based on Aircraft Stability

This paper determined the feasibility of an adaptive hexapod simulator motion algorithm based on aircraft roll stability. An experiment was conducted that used a transport aircraft model in the Vertical Motion Simulator at NASA Ames Research Center. Eighteen general aviation pilots flew a heading-capture task and a stall task consecutively under four motion configurations: baseline hexapod, adaptive hexapod, optimized hexapod, and full motion. The adaptive motion was more similar to the baseline hexapod motion in the heading-capture task when the aircraft was more stable, and more similar to the optimized hexapod motion in the stall task when the aircraft was more unstable. Pilot motion ratings and task performance in the heading-capture task under the adaptive hexapod motion were more similar to baseline hexapod motion compared to optimized hexapod motion. However, motion ratings and task performance in the stall task under the adaptive motion were not significantly more similar to the optimized hexapod motion compared to baseline hexapod motion. Motion ratings and overall task performance under optimized hexapod motion as opposed to baseline hexapod motion were always more similar to the full motion condition. This paper showed that adaptive motion based on aircraft stability is feasible and can be implemented in a straightforward way. More research is required to test the adaptive motion algorithm in different tasks

Motion Cueing for Stall Recovery Training in Commercial Transport Simulators

Starting in 2019, airline pilots will be required to perform full stall recovery training in flight simulators. Historically, training simulators weren't required to provide training at conditions outside their normal flight envelope. Post-stall aircraft models are generally required to be implemented to simulate the aircraft response after the stall point. In addition, motion cues need to adequately represent this response to ensure the skills learned in simulator training are directly usable in real flight. This paper provides and overview of six simulator experiments conducted at NASA Ames Research Center to develop a motion cueing strategies for stall recovery training in commercial transport simulators. One of the experiments verified an enhanced motion cueing strategy for stall recovery training on a level-D-certified full flight simulator. This study showed that the enhanced motion results in lower maximum roll angles in the stall maneuver, lower minimum load factors in the recovery, lower numbers of secondary stick shakers in the stall recovery, and a lower maximum airspeed in the recovery. These results indicate that relatively minor enhancements to the motion logic of heritage commercial transport simulators can significantly improve pilot performance in simulated stall recoveries, and potentially improve stall recovery training

A Clean Energy Roadmap: Forging the Path Ahead

Calls for better-aligned state policies, reduced market uncertainty, expanded power grid access, interagency and cross-sector collaboration, and a robust research-to-commercialization pipeline to boost investment in clean energy innovations and new firms

Lentokoulutussimulaattoreiden validoidun lentoarvoalueen arviointi epätavallisten lentotilojen koulutusta varten

Loss of control in-flight has been the most significant contributor fatal accidents in commercial air transport over the last decade. The mitigation of this accident type has been raised as one of the top safety priorities in commercial civil aviation. As a reaction to the circumstances, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States have issued new provisions in effort to ensure that flight training provides pilots with the necessary knowledge and skill-set required to detect, avoid and, when needed, recover from aeroplane upset situations. Consequently, the qualification requirements for flight training simulators have been adapted to match this renewed type of training. Until recently, previously qualified simulators have not been required to demonstrate realistic fidelity outside of the normal training envelope. The objectives of this master’s thesis are to examine the status of the current and foreseeable regulatory framework related to upset prevention and recovery training, and to study how previously qualified simulators may be demonstrated compliant with the novel provisions. This thesis is conducted by means of a literature study and two case studies. In the first case study an aerodynamic data package of a large transport aeroplane is examined in order to assess the ranges of aerodynamic data typically available for a simulator flight model, and to underline the essential aerodynamic stability derivatives that are required to evaluate the fidelity of a simulator flight model. The second case study focuses on determining a validated training envelope for a previously qualified simulator, currently in use in flight training organisation environment. The range of the aerodynamic data encompassed within the simulator flight model was uncovered by examining the source code and software documentation of the simulator. Finally, a flight validated envelope was constituted by means of experimental testing and matching the response of the simulator with available flight test data. The problematics of this case study correspond to the typical challenging case in the industry, where support from the manufacturer is no longer available for an older device.Lennonaikainen hallinnanmenetys on aiheuttanut kaupallisessa ilmakuljetuksessa enemmän kuolonuhreja kuin mikään muu onnettomuustyyppi kuluneen vuosikymmenen aikana. Kyseisen onnettomuustyypin ennaltaehkäisy on noussut yhdeksi tärkeimmistä lentoturvallisuuden kehityskohteista. Euroopan lentoturvallisuusvirasto EASA ja Yhdysvaltain ilmailuhallinto FAA ovat reagoineet tilanteeseen uusilla vaatimuksilla, tarkoituksenaan varmistaa lentokoulutuksen antavan lentäjille valmiuksia välttää epätavallisia lentotiloja ja tarvittaessa suorittaa oikaisu. Tässä yhteydessä myös lentokoulutuksessa käytettäviä simulaattoreita koskeviin vaatimuksiin on tehty merkittäviä muutoksia. Aikaisemmin hyväksytyiltä simulaattoreilta ei ole vaadittu samaa realismin tasoa lentokoulutuksessa tavallisesti saavutetun lentoarvoalueen ulkopuolella. Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena on selvittää epätavallisten lentotilojen koulutusta koskevien viranomaisvaatimusten nykytila ja lähitulevaisuuden näkymät, sekä tutkia kuinka vaatimustenmukaisuus voidaan osoittaa jo koulutuskäyttöön hyväksyttyjen simulaattoreiden kohdalla – tarkoittaen käytännössä simulaattorin lentomallin validointia oikeasta lentokoneesta mitattua koelentodataa vasten. Diplomityö koostuu kirjallisuusselvityksestä, sekä kahdesta tapaustutkimuksesta. Ensimmäinen tapaustutkimus toteutettiin aineistoanalyysinä julkisesti saatavilla olevasta liikennelentokoneen koelentodatapaketista, tavoitteena tutkia miltä lentoarvoalueelta on tyypillisesti käytettävissä aerodynaamista dataa simulaattorin mallinnusta varten, sekä tutkia mitkä aerodynaamiset stabiliteettiderivaatat ovat oleellisimpia simulaattorin lentomallin vaatimustenmukaisuuden arvioinnin kannalta. Toisessa tapaustutkimuksessa määritettiin lentokoulutusorganisaatioympäristössä käytössä olevalle simulaattorille epätavallisten lentotilojen koulutuksessa vaadittu validoitu lentoarvoalue. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin simulaattorin lähdekoodista ja ohjelmistokuvauksista lentomallin sisältämän aerodynaamisen datan kattama arvoalue. Validoitu lentoarvoalue selvitettiin kokeellisella testauksella, verraten simulaattorin vastetta saatavilla olevaan koelentodataan. Tapaustutkimuksen asetelma vastaa tyypillistä hankalaa tapausta, jossa valmistajan tuotetukea ei ole enää saatavilla

An empirical investigation on EDI determinants and outcomes in Malaysian industry

Government involvement is the main cause for the EDI acceptance in Southeast Asian countries (United Nation of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific - UNESCAP, 1996). This is significantly different from the EDI developments in the western countries in which private sector involvement in EDI is substantial (UNESCAP, 1996). As an initial step to spur EDI implementation in private sector, the Malaysian Government has imposed all companies that engage in international trade to implement EDI by doing electronic customs declarations through CIS (Customs Information System) DagangNet. For this, the Government also spent over RM 300 million to fully implement EDI nationwide (Star, 2003 December 3). Nevertheless, such implementation is not successful and it has been claimed that “EDI is not yet fully implemented even though it had been initiated since late 1990s, besides electronic data is also still not recognized for legal customs declaration purposes even if it was meant for paperless and electronic customs declarations” (Star, 2003 December 3). To date, there are dual customs declarations, both electronic and manual, in practices where the sole typical electronic transaction is registration of the customs form (Jimmy, 2005; Star, 2005 July 11). This is in contrast with electronic customs declarations by other countries such as Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore where there is a full electronic declaration including electronic payment for declarations charges (Jimmy, 2005; Star, 2005 July 11; Chau, 2001)

Comparative Analysis of Conventional Electronic and OZ Concept Displays for Aircraft Energy Management

A repeated-measures, within-subjects design was conducted on 58 participant pilots to assess mean differences on energy management situation awareness response time and response accuracy between a conventional electronic aircraft display, a primary flight display (PFD), and an ecological interface design aircraft display, the OZ concept display. Participants were associated with a small Midwestern aviation university, including student pilots, flight instructors, and faculty with piloting experience. Testing consisted of observing 15 static screenshots of each cockpit display type and then selecting applicable responses from 27 standardized responses for each screen. A paired samples t-test was computed comparing accuracy and response time for the two displays. There was no significant difference in means between PFD Response Time and OZ Response Time. On average, mean PFD Accuracy was significantly higher than mean OZ Accuracy (MDiff = 13.17, SDDiff = 20.96), t(57) = 4.78, p \u3c .001, d = 0.63. This finding showed operational potential for the OZ display, since even without first training to proficiency on the previously unseen OZ display, participant performance differences were not operationally remarkable. There was no significant correlation between PFD Response Time and PFD Accuracy, but there was a significant correlation between OZ Response Time and OZ Accuracy, r (58) = .353, p \u3c .01. These findings suggest the participant familiarity of the PFD resulted in accuracy scores unrelated to response time, compared to the participants unaccustomed with the OZ display where longer response times manifested in greater understanding of the OZ display. PFD Response Time and PFD Accuracy were not correlated with pilot flight hours, which was not expected. It was thought that increased experience would translate into faster and more accurate assessment of the aircraft stimuli. OZ Response Time and OZ Accuracy were also not correlated with pilot flight hours, but this was expected. This was consistent with previous research that observed novice operators performing as well as experienced professional pilots on dynamic flight tasks with the OZ display. A demographic questionnaire and a feedback survey were included in the trial. An equivalent three-quarters majority of participants rated the PFD as “easy” and the OZ as “confusing”, yet performance accuracy and response times between the two displays were not operationally different

Effects of False Tilt Cues on the Training of Manual Roll Control Skills

This paper describes a transfer-of-training study performed in the NASA Ames Vertica lMotion Simulator. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of false tilt cues on training and transfer of training of manual roll control skills. Of specific interest were the skills needed to control unstable roll dynamics of a mid-size transport aircraft close to the stall point. Nineteen general aviation pilots trained on a roll control task with one of three motion conditions: no motion, roll motion only, or reduced coordinated roll motion. All pilots transferred to full coordinated roll motion in the transfer session. A novel multimodal pilot model identification technique was successfully applied to characterize how pilots' use of visual and motion cues changed over the course of training and after transfer. Pilots who trained with uncoordinated roll motion had significantly higher performance during training and after transfer, even though they experienced the false tilt cues. Furthermore, pilot control behavior significantly changed during the two sessions, as indicated by increasing visual and motion gains, and decreasing lead time constants. Pilots training without motion showed higher learning rates after transfer to the full coordinated roll motion case

L(sub 1) Adaptive Control Design for NASA AirSTAR Flight Test Vehicle

In this paper we present a new L(sub 1) adaptive control architecture that directly compensates for matched as well as unmatched system uncertainty. To evaluate the L(sub 1) adaptive controller, we take advantage of the flexible research environment with rapid prototyping and testing of control laws in the Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research system at the NASA Langley Research Center. We apply the L(sub 1) adaptive control laws to the subscale turbine powered Generic Transport Model. The presented results are from a full nonlinear simulation of the Generic Transport Model and some preliminary pilot evaluations of the L(sub 1) adaptive control law