Developing Upset Cueing for Conventional Flight Simulators

Abstract

As a part of the SUPRA project, NLR has been developing motion cueing for Upset Prevention and Recovery Training on conventional full flight simulators. This paper describes the concept development, implementation and piloted evaluation of modified motion cueing on the GRACE hexapod simulator. The focus of these developments was to improve the motion cueing with minimum impact on the existing hardware and software of the simulator. Two different strategies were applied within the motion cueing solution – workspace and perception optimised. The workspace strategy aimed to improve the fidelity by maximising the use of the simulator’s motion envelope. The perception strategy reproduced the G-load perception effects on the acceleration onset cueing. In addition a modification to the stall buffet cueing effect was developed. Two phases of experimental evaluation were carried out consisting of a subjective validation by experimental test pilots and an evaluation with current line pilots. The outcome of these experiments indicated the onset cueing could be objectively improved. The perception of the motion cueing in the upset and stall recovery scenario’s was enhanced, without introducing false cues. The stall buffet modifications resulted in reduced stall recognition times. These experiments at NLR demonstrated that the hexapod based flight simulator forms a valuable training facility for Upset Prevention and Recovery Training.