Functional Requirements for Ground-Based Trainers: Helicopter Response Characteristics.

Abstract : The overall research purpose was to develop methods for analyzing the helicopter pilot's control tasks, as a basis for deciding characteristics needed in a ground-based trainer for use in pilot training. The report covers one phase, the response characteristics of the helicopter as it reacts to control inputs and external forces. Analyses were made of (a) characteristics of each dimension of control, (b) interaction among the dimensions, (c) effect of external forcing functions such as wind, (d) information the pilot receives by kinesthetic feedback from the controls. A measure of man-machine system characteristics was postulated--the 'effective-time constant,' the time it takes for the displayed output of the system to rise above the pilot's threshold of perception. Dealing with the effects of interaction among the controls proved to be one of the most difficult pilot tasks; of the single dimensions, pitch control is the most difficult. The characteristics of the system were identified in such a way that they can be varied quantitatively in research on task difficulty and transfer of training. (Author)