Flight Simulation: Virtual Environments in Aviation
Chapter 10
Flight Simulation in Research
Flight simulators have been designed and developed for the past seventy years, primarily for the training and evaluation of pilots. In this regard, the flight simulator represents a highly ophisticated and complex technology which has been largely successful in its goal of creating a ground-based, synthetic environment for pilot training. But no discussion of flight simulation would be complete without at least some reference to its role in aviation research. Unlike flight simulators used for training purposes, those used in research have demanded very high levels of physical fidelity. Generally, such simulators fall in two general categories. The first category represents those purpose-built to support a particular research program such as the study of aircraft handling qualities or the optimum design of a flight deck. A second category of research simulators consist of those that are modified versions of simulators which were originally design for training. These devices have the advantage of lower cost and the high reliability built into training devices. They are especially useful in research programs where extensive modifications or changes to the simulator design are not required. Flight simulators used for research also have a different user population. Rather than the instructor pilots and trainees for whom training simulators are designed, the research simulator is typically designed and used by research scientists and engineers. The device itself is more likely to be flown by highly experienced pilots who will be more demanding of fidelity requirements than trainee pilots are likely to be. Additionally, research simulator hardware and software need to be easily changed to allow for comparative testing of either aircraft or simulator design characteristics. Easily altering the handling properties of a simulated aircraft or changing the update rate of the visual scene display are the types of changes that might be required of a research simulator. Research simulator design requirements differ significantly in this regard from training simulators where the design is fixed and changes may be not only be impractical, but prohibited by regulations. Accurate and complete recordings of simulated aircraft performance under a wide variety of scenarios require extensive instrumentation of flight simulators used for research. This instrumentation may involve the recording of a large number of aircraft and simulator performance parameters at a very high sampling rate. Additional recordings of pilot or aircrew behavior are also required in some research studies requiring modifications to the simulator to accommodate audio, visual and other recording systems.
The designers of research simulators also need to address the issue of fidelity. Fidelity in research simulators is, however, even more important than it is in training simulators since much of the research conducted on these simulators is based on the assumption that the simulator is a wholly valid surrogate for the aircraft. While only partial transfer-of-training from a training device may be acceptable, the ability to generalize to the operational aircraft conclusions drawn from studies conducted in research simulators must be unquestioned for the investigator to have any faith in the utility of the research device. This requirement for very high fidelity in research simulators increases not only the required complexity and robustness of its component technologies, but significantly increases the cost of these devices as well. For this reason, purpose-built research simulators are relatively few in number and are generally owned and perated by government agencies or large corporations.
Research Applications
- Cockpit Design
- Avionics
- Airport Capacity Improvements
- Human Factors
- Training Research
- Accident Investigation
- Flight Simulator Design
Flight Simulator Research Facilities
- US Air Force Research Laboratory (USAFRL), Warfighter Training Research Division
- FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute
- Cranfield University School of Engineering
- Delft University of Technology
- The National Aerospace Laboratoly
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
