Design of a Simulation Tool for Aircraft Mission Performance Evaluation

Abstract

This paper presents an approach for a simulation tool for aircraft mission performance evaluation. It offers the possibility to perform parameter studies by flying a predefined aircraft mission under varying conditions much faster than realtime. The simulation framework includes a pilot model / moding logic combination modeling the different flight phases, the pilots' behavior and procedures to be performed. Moreover, models with different levels of fidelity can be assessed due to the flexibility of the system. The combination of logic and control elements is described in detail. Additionally, results from simulation runs using a six degree of freedom model of a Generic Transport Aircraft are presented in this paper to show the possibilities provided by the tool. imulation nowadays is a common way to assess the dynamic behavior and performance of aircraft. Pilot-In- The-Loop Simulations are often used to obtain an impression of the aircraft handling from the pilot's point of view. These simulations can be used to evaluate the aircraft's performance flying a predefined mission in a more-or- less static scenario. However, as soon as statistical assessments of a certain parameter under varying conditions has to be conducted, Pilot-In-The-Loop evaluations tend to be inexpedient due to the fact that flying a long mission in real-time is time consuming. This is especially the case when variations of several parameters have to be performed. Moreover, reproducible conditions in two evaluation runs cannot be guaranteed, as the pilots' behavior might change from one mission set to another. A mathematical representation of the pilot which performs all the necessary steps to fly a predefined mission is a possible solution to this problem. It can be used to evaluate the aircraft mission performance under varying conditions much faster than real-time while guaranteeing a reproducible performance of the pilot. This paper presents the design and implementation of such a simulation tool which is used at IABG mbH to assess the performance of different types of aircraft. In the first section of this paper, the overall structure of the simulation framework will be presented. Afterwards, the simulation model of the aircraft used in the evaluation runs is briefly described. In a next step, the components of the aircraft mission simulation are introduced, including the moding logics and the control-algorithms used to perform the mission task. The paper concludes with the presentation of simulation results obtained while performing an example mission.