Automating the Handling Qualities Predictions of the Flying-V

As the Flying-V goes through subsequent design iterations, each new model requires dedicated handling qualities research. A part of that work, namely obtaining the handling qualities predictions, is highly repetitive and can be automated. To address that issue, a Python library for automated handling qualities prediction evaluations of the...

Predictions of Motion Sickness Incidence for EVTOL Passengers

The interest in developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles has increased sharply in recent years. A concern for passenger acceptance of the new type of vehicle is that people may experience motion sickness. This is because eVTOL flight profiles are different from the motion conditions that people have previously...

Training Startle and Surprise Management On The Flight Deck

Startle and surprise training interventions developed and tested in previous research have shown how falling back to mnemonic aid procedures when experiencing an unexpected event during flight can ameliorate the effects of startle and surprise responses. The current research follows up on the recommendations provided by Van Middelaar et al. on...

Using heave cues to increase pitch perception in ground-based simulation

In current spatial orientation models, vertical acceleration (heave) is not coupled with pilot pitch perception, although such a coupling may be present. Therefore, in this study it is investigated whether a heave cue can increase perceived pitch in pilots.<br/><br/>Airline pilots (n = 20) performed a pitch perception task in a hexapod simulator...

Piloted simulator evaluation of low speed handling qualities of the Flying-V

The Flying-V novel aircraft design aims at reducing fuel consumption by an innovative low-drag, fuselage-free geometry. However, possible issues related to certification requirements have been noted regarding longitudinal handling qualities at low speed, the pull-up manoeuver, and the flight path angle response. This study aims at investigating...

Piloted Assessment of the Lateral-Directional Handling Qualities of the Flying-V

Flying wings are known for their limited lateral-directional stability and handling qualities. This study aims at assessing the lateral-directional handling qualities of a conceptual flying wing aircraft currently in development at TU Delft, the Flying-V. It focuses on two aspects: First assess the lateral-directional handling qualities of the...

Analysis and Control of Pilot Gaze Behavior to Support Basic Flight Training

It has been shown that expert gaze behavior can be used to enhance training for novices, among others in the field of laparoscopic surgery. The research in this paper focused on the effect of changing pilot gaze behavior on flight performance and detection task performance. Two groups of novices were shown a recording of expert behavior,...

Assessing the Longitudinal Handling Qualities of the Flying-V by Pilot Evaluation

The handling qualities of an aircraft are an important aspect in aircraft design, especially for novel configurations. The Flying V is a flying wing passenger aircraft designed to transport about 300 passengers. The handling qualities of such a new configuration aircraft are to be investigated before the aircraft can continue in its design...

Using depth information to improve display interpretation: Evaluating the effect of increasing figure-ground separation with a Multi Layer Display on attitude indicator misinterpretation

In previous studies it was shown that both pilots and non-pilots sometimes make roll reversal errors (RREs) when the aircraft bank angle is presented on a moving horizon type attitude indicator. This incorrect input has been shown to be caused by a misinterpretation of the horizon symbol on such an attitude indicator. The figure-ground relation...

Sensitivity analysis of a minimum lateral control speed prediction system: Using a Fokker 50 simulation model

Preventing Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) in commercial and general aviation is an active research area with numerous proposed solutions. One of these solutions aims to prevent lateral LOC-I, a special type of LOC-I, by presenting a roll-performance based minimum lateral control speed to the pilot in roll-limited situations, such as single...

Perceptual Eigenmode Distortion Analysis for Motion Cueing Evaluation: In Fixed-Wing Aircraft Simulators

The Perceptual Eigenmode Distortion (PEMD), an extension to the Eigenmode Distortion (EMD), is a method for objectively evaluating simulator motion fidelity, developed at TU Delft. EMD investigates motion cue distortions, imposed by the Motion Cueing Algorithm (MCA), in terms of eigenvectors, which represent the dynamic modes of a linear system....

Modelling Demand-Based Runway Reconfigurations: A Symbolic AI Approach

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AAS) saw a record number of passengers during the summer of 2018, with an average of 220,000 passengers per day[61]. Over recent years, the airport has recorded an increase in passenger numbers every year. Projections of the International Air Transportation Association show a significant increase in demand for air...

Flight Simulator Benchmarking: A Simulator Comparison Study into the Effects of Motion Filter Order on Pilot Control Behavior

This thesis describes an experiment investigating the effects of motion filter order on human manual control tracking behavior and performance. The experiment was performed on two simulators: the Vertical Motion Simulator at NASA Ames Research Center and the SIMONA Research Simulator at Delft University of Technology. Eighteen pilots in the...

Traffic Safety around Major Forks: A driving simulator study that compares different configurations with the use of surrogate safety measures

By means of a driving simulator experiment and an accident data analysis, this research focuses on two points: (1) an expected difference in turbulence between major fork configurations that differ in the number of mandatory lane changes for rightmost traffic going to the left-diverging roadway, and (2) an expected difference in driver...

The roll-sway problem and the effects of lateral specific force in full motion flight simulation

The simulation of aircraft roll rates causes noticeable false g-tilt cues as a result of the simulator cabin roll angle. Although false tilt can be counteracted by swaying the simulator cabin, an improper implementation of the motion drive logic for coordinating sway could cause delayed side-forces. The aim of this paper is to evaluate two...

Effects of Helicopter Degree of Freedom and Motion Cues On Allowable Error Envelopes

Motion Fidelity Assessment for Helicopter Simulations: Extending the Objective Motion Cueing Test to Measure Rotorcraft Simulator Motion Characteristics

The Objective Motion Cueing Test (OMCT) refers to a way to measure motion characteristics of a simulation objectively, by constructing so-called frequency response functions of the cueing system. Research in recent years has applied the OMCT to a number of fixed-wing research simulators. However, the effect of aircraft dynamics on predicted...

Fault-Tolerant Flight Control with Sensor-Based Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion

A worldwide civil aviation accident survey for the period of 2002 till 2011, conducted by the CAA-UK shows that in this time period nearly 40% of all the aircraft accidents involved loss of control. Despite the fatal outcomes, reconfigurable flight control might have been able to recover the aircraft by efficiently utilizing the remaining...