Influence of Coupled Sidesticks on the Pilot Monitoring's Awareness During Flare

Passive sidesticks have been used in modern fly-by-wire commercial airplanes since the late 1980s. These passive sidesticks typically do not feature a mechanical coupling between them, so the pilot’s and copilot’s sidesticks move independently. This characteristic disabled the pilot monitoring (PM) to perceive the control inputs of the pilot flying (PF). This can lead to problems of awareness in abnormal situations. The development of active inceptor technology made it possible to electronically couple two sidesticks emulating a mechanical coupling. This research focuses on the benefits of coupled sidesticks to the situation awareness of the PM. The final approach and landing scenario was considered for this study. Twelve pilots participated in the simulator experiment. Results suggest that the coupling between sidesticks, allowing the PM to perceive the PF’s inputs, can improve the PM’s situation awareness

Preparation for Endurance Competitions at Altitude: Physiological, Psychological, Dietary and Coaching Aspects. A Narrative Review

It was the Summer Olympic Games 1968 held in Mexico City (2,300 m) that required scientists and coaches to cope with the expected decline of performance in endurance athletes and to establish optimal preparation programs for competing at altitude. From that period until now many different recommendations for altitude acclimatization in advance of an altitude competition were proposed, ranging from several hours to several weeks. Those recommendations are mostly based on the separate consideration of the physiology of acclimatization, psychological issues, performance changes, logistical or individual aspects, but there is no review considering all these aspects in their entirety. Therefore, the present work primarily focusses on the period of altitude sojourn prior to the competition at altitude based on physiological and psychological aspects complemented by nutritional and sports practical considerations

IMPACT STUDY ON CYBER THREATS TO GNSS AND FMS SYSTEMS

Within this work, that was carried out following a call for tender by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the impact of cybersecurity threats especially on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Flight Management Systems (FMS) was assessed. In order to do so, simulation studies were carried out. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) operates the research simulator AVES (Air Vehicle Simulator) which was used for the flight simulation exercises within this project. The AVES combines two facilities to simulate airplanes and helicopters to the highest technical level. The cockpit unit used was a complete replica of an Airbus A320. The corresponding simulation software (incl. flight dynamical models and system simulation) is entirely developed at DLR according to the official documentation providing full access and flexibility in the investigations. The motion platform provides a motion system with six degrees of freedom, whose motion cueing algorithms can be specifically tuned for a given task if needed. This unique infrastructure has been built during the last years with the aim of providing a highly-representative test platform for new cockpit functions and flight crew training research. To assess the impact of cyber-attacks on GNSS and FMS, different scenarios were developed and ranked by their likelihood of occurrence and their expected impact on safety and the continuation of the flight. Based on the identified threats, realistic scenarios according to airline operations were designed and implemented into the AVES research simulator. Synthetic error models reproducing the same effects on the aircraft systems as identified in the projects preceding GNSS and FMS threat assessment work were integrated into the AVES software architecture. In particular, the impact of GNSS jamming and spoofing attacks during satellite based approach procedures was investigated. In addition, attacks on the FMS through the open protocol of the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) were assessed. In this paper, we are going to present the results that were obtained during the simulations with airline pilots holding Air Transport Pilot Licenses (ATPL) with a special focus on the attacks on the FMS and its related systems. We are going to describe the simulation setup and the reaction of the pilots and we will give pilot training and cockpit systems design recommendations in order to mitigate risks that stem from the investigated threat scenarios

Integration of Wake Impact Alleviation Control System into Control System Architecture of Modern Fly-by-Wire Aircraft

Wake vortices can represent a serious disturbance for encountering aircraft because they can cause sudden, unexpected aircraft reactions like strong rolling motions. This paper presents a control system, called Online Wake Identification and Impact Alleviation (OWIDIA), which has the particular purpose to alleviate these wake-induced aircraft reactions and is applied in addition to the regular flight control laws of the aircraft. The OWIDIA system uses the information of an airborne forward-looking Doppler lidar sensor about the wake vortex wind velocities in front of the aircraft. On the basis of these measurements, an online wake identification algorithm characterizes a potential wake vortex and a control module determines the control surface deflections that countervail the wake-induced aircraft response. The present paper shows the undesired interactions that can occur when combining the OWIDIA system with the basic control laws of the aircraft and demonstrates how these interactions can be prevented

Bewertung von Single Pilot Operations im Projekt Next Generation Intelligent Cockpit (NICo)

Das DLR als neutrale, unabhängige Forschungseinrichtung untersucht und bewertet im Projekt Next Generation Intelligent Cockpit (NICo) das Konzept eines zukünftigen, hochautomatisierten Cockpits. Es erforscht die Unterstützung der Crew durch einen Virtuellen Co-Piloten und durch einen Remote Co-Piloten sowie der Einfluss auf die Personalauswahl und Training. Im Rahmen des Dialogtages werden die aktuellen Ergebnisse vorgestellt. Der Fokus liegt auf den Konzepten zum Betrieb von Single Pilot Operations

Limited evaluation of the influence of coupled sidesticks on the pilot monitoring's awareness during stall in cruise

Passive sidesticks have been used in modern fly-by-wire (FBW) commercial airplanes since the late 1980s. These passive sidesticks typically do not feature a mechanical coupling between them, therefore the pilot's and copilot's sidesticks move independently. This characteristic disabled the pilot monitoring (PM) to perceive the control inputs of the pilot flying (PF). This can lead to problems of awareness in abnormal situations. The development of active inceptors technology made it possible to electronically couple two sidesticks emulating a mechanical coupling. This research focuses on the benefits of coupled sidesticks to the situation awareness of the PM. A scenario based on the available data of an accident occurred in 2009 was synthesized. Four pilots participated in this study. Results suggest that the coupling between sidesticks, allowing the PM to perceive the PF's inputs, can improve the PM's situation awareness

Das Man4Gen-Projekt: Unterstützung von Airline-Crews in unerwarteten Situationen

Moderne Verkehrsflugzeuge fliegen sicher und hoch automatisiert. Der Beitrag der Automatisierung zur Erhöhung der Flugsicherheit ist unbestritten. Dennoch treten noch immer Zwischenfälle auf, in denen sich zeigt, dass Piloten während plötzlicher und unerwarteter Situationen auf Probleme stoßen. Diese Situationen erfordern häufig einen schnellen Übergang von der Überwachung sehr zuverlässiger Systeme hin zum aktiven Eingreifen und Treffen von Entscheidungen. Das EU-Projekt Man4Gen, Manual Operations of 4th Generation Airliners, hat untersucht, wie Crews in solchen unerwarteten und herausfordernden Situationen reagieren, gerade wenn keine eindeutige Lösung existiert. Zwei Simulatorstudien wurden an vier verschiedenen Forschungs- und Ausbildungseinrichtungen durchgeführt. Der Vortrag beschreibt die Durchführung der ersten Simulatorstudie, deren Ergebnisse und die darauf basierende Entwicklung des Risk Information Systems. Abschließend werden die Ergebnisse der Bewertung des neuen Systems im Rahmen der zweiten Simulatorstudie dargestellt