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Objective: We examined whether active head aiming with a Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) can draw the pilot's attention away from a primary flight task. Furthermore, we examined whether visual clutter increases this effect. Background: Head up display symbology can result in attentional tunneling, and clutter makes it difficult to identify objects. Method: Eighteen military pilots had to simultaneously perform an attitude control task while flying in clouds and a head aiming task in a fixed-base flight simulator. The former consisted of manual compensation for roll disturbances of the aircraft, while the latter consisted of keeping a moving visual target inside a small or large head-referenced circle. A "no head aiming" condition served as a baseline. Furthermore, all conditions were performed with or without visual clutter. Results: Head aiming led to deterioration of the attitude control task performance and an increase of the amount of roll-reversal errors (RREs). This was even the case when head aiming required minimal effort. Head aiming accuracy was significantly lower when the roll disturbances in the attitude control task were large compared to when they were small. Visual clutter had no effect on both tasks. Conclusion: We suggest that active head aiming of HMD symbology can cause attentional tunneling, as expressed by an increased number of RREs and less accuracy on a simultaneously performed attitude control task. Application: This study improves our understanding in the perceptual and cognitive effects of (military) HMDs, and has implications for operational use and possibly (re)design of HMDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, researches on the comfort of flight simulators primarily focus on the objective and rational comfort aspects of drivers' physiology and psychology, neglecting the deeper subjective and perceptual comfort experiences of drivers. To better meet the holistic comfort needs of drivers, this paper introduces a concept of comfortable field design and proposes a comfortable field design model for flight simulators. Firstly, the model uses product morphology analysis to determine the morphological design elements of flight simulator representative samples, and uses principal component analysis and factor analysis to determine its representative imagery words. Secondly, utilizing quantitative class I theory, a psychological comfortable field evaluation method is devised, establishing a regression model and matching degree correlating flight simulator design elements with perceptual imagery word pairs. This approach facilitates a swift and precise determination of the direction for imagery design. Ergonomic data are used to construct a physiological expression of the comfortable field. Finally, taking a flight simulator as an example, the industrial design method and JACK are used for design practice and evaluation. The results show that the optimized flight simulator can effectively meet the comfortable field requirements of the drivers, which verifies the validity and feasibility of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The illusory experience of self-motion known as vection, is a multisensory phenomenon relevant to self-motion processes. While some studies have shown that neck muscle vibrations can improve self-motion parameter estimation, the influence on vection remains unknown. Further, few studies measured cybersickness (CS), presence, and vection concurrently and have shown conflicting results. It was hypothesized that 1) neck vibrations would enhance vection and presence, and 2) CS to negatively relate to presence and vection, whereas presence and vection to positively relate to one another. Thirty-two participants were visually and audibly immersed in a virtual reality flight simulator and occasional neck muscle vibrations were presented. Vection onset and duration were reported through button presses. Turning angle estimations and ratings of vection quality, presence, and CS were obtained after completion of the flights. Results showed no influence of vibrations on turning angle estimation errors, but a medium positive effect of vibrations on vection quality was found. Presence and vection quality were positively related, and no strong association between CS and presence or vection was found. It is concluded that neck vibrations may enhance vection and presence, however, from the current study it is unclear whether this is due to proprioceptive or tactile stimulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents more than ten years of experience in testing the abilities of pilots during flight control on flight simulators. A hypothesis is stated about the possibilities of finding common features in flight control, the basic mathematical apparatus for evaluation is presented, the flight simulators used and, of course, the achieved results are presented. 110 pilots have already been tested and a total of 2360 missions - test flights - have been simulated. Subsequent mathematical analysis provided approximately 40,000 results suitable for further statistical processing. This amount of data obtained from realistically simulated flights provides a prerequisite for defining applicable conclusions to the proposed mortgages. For the needs of subsequent certification, a proposal for the pile measurement methodology was also prepared, which summarizes both the theoretical approach to pile testing and the procedure for carrying out tests on individual simulators. Part of the proposed methodology includes an overview of the software created to facilitate the recording of data from individual missions, as well as software for own analysis of the measured data from the missions.

This manuscript describes the computational process to calculate an airplane path and display it in a 2D and 3D coordinate system on a computer screen. The airplane movement is calculated as a function of its dynamic's conditions according to physical and logical theory. Here, the flight is divided into maneuvers and the aircraft conditions are defined as boundary conditions. Then the aircraft position is calculated using nested loops, which execute the calculation procedure at every step time (Δt). The calculation of the aircraft displacement is obtained as a function of the aircraft speed and heading angles. The simulator was created using the C++ programming language, and each part of the algorithm was compiled independently to reduce the source code, allow easy modification, and improve the programming efficiency. Aerial navigation involves very complex phenomena to be considered for an appropriate representation; moreover, in this manuscript, the influence of the mathematical approach to properly represent the aircraft flight is described in detail. The flight simulator was successfully tested by simulating some basic theoretical flights with different maneuvers, which include stationary position, running along the way, take off, and some movements in the airspace. The maximum aircraft speed tested was 120 km/h, the maximum maneuver time was 12 min, and the space for simulation was assumed to be without obstacles. Here, the geometrical description of path and speed is analyzed according to the symmetric and asymmetric results. Finally, an analysis was conducted to evaluate the approach of the numerical methods used; after that, it was possible to confirm that precision increased as the step time was reduced. According to this analysis, no more than 500 steps are required for a good approach in the calculation of the aircraft displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate whether high cognitive task load (CTL) for aircraft pilots can be identified by analysing heart-rate variability, electrocardiograms were recorded while cadet pilots (n = 68) performed the plane tracking, anti-gravity pedalling, and reaction tasks during simulated flight missions. Data for standard electrocardiogram parameters were extracted from the R–R-interval series. In the research phase, low frequency power (LF), high frequency power (HF), normalised HF, and LF/HF differed significantly between high and low CTL conditions (p <.05 for all). A principal component analysis identified three components contributing 90.62% of cumulative heart-rate variance. These principal components were incorporated into a composite index. Validation in a separate group of cadet pilots (n = 139) under similar conditions showed that the index value significantly increased with increasing CTL (p <.05). The heart-rate variability index can be used to objectively identify high CTL flight conditions. Practitioner summary: We used principal component analysis of electrocardiogram data to construct a composite index for identifying high cognitive task load in pilots during simulated flight. We validated the index in a separate group of pilots under similar conditions. The index can be used to improve cadet training and flight safety. Abbreviations: ANOVA: a one-way analysis of variance; AP: anti-gravity pedaling task; CTL: cognitive task load; ECG: electrocardiograms; HR: heart rate; HRV: heart-rate variability; HRVI: heart-rate variability index; PT: plane-tracking task; RMSSD: root-mean square of differences between consecutive R–R intervals; RT: reaction task; SDNN: standard deviation of R-R intervals; HF: high frequency power; HFnu: normalized HF; LF: low frequency power; LFnu: normalized LF; PCA: principal component analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research assesses the competency and skill requirements for Seaplane aircraft maintenance in the pilot education program at the Indonesian Pilot Academy Banyuwangi. Utilizing qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews and direct observation, the study involves students and teachers in the pilot education program. Analysis reveals crucial competencies for students, encompassing a profound understanding of Seaplane aircraft systems, adept problem-solving during operations, and the capacity for quick and precise decision-making. Special skills, such as adaptability to complex working conditions and meticulousness in maintenance procedures, are also deemed essential. The research identifies alignment between the academy's curriculum and Seaplane aircraft maintenance needs, yet highlights specific areas requiring enhancement. The study recommends strengthening the curriculum and teaching methods to better address competency and skill needs. Implementing these recommendations is anticipated to elevate the quality of graduates, ensuring they are well-equipped to meet the challenges of Seaplane aircraft maintenance in the aviation industry.

Pilot operational behaviour directly affects aviation safety, and exploring pilot behaviour can help decode, model, and predict pilot behavioural decisions. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize pilots’ states and predict the behaviours responsible for state changes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between pilot operating behaviour and brain activity. Using a flight simulator (DA42) and noninvasive functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), changes in physiological signals were measured in 25 pilot cadets during different turning tasks. Twenty-five pilot cadets completed left and right turning tasks in a flight simulator, and the changes in blood oxygen concentration during different turning behaviours were analysed and modelled using machine learning models. Feature samples with significant differences ( $\text{p}< 0.05$ ) were extracted from the changes in oxyhaemoglobin concentration and selected for input into the SVM-linear classification model, the best results were achieved for the recognition of the pilot’s turning behaviour. After stratification based on feature importance, the SVM-RBF classification model obtained the highest accuracy (92.6%) after training with inputs containing a subset of features (60%) with the highest importance. In addition, the different turning behaviours of the pilots were closely related to activity in Brodmann area 17 (BA 17), BA 18 and BA 46. These findings provide insight into the neuroscientific mechanisms of pilot behaviour and provide an important physiological reference for improving pilot training.

The use of flight simulators in investigating an aviation incident or accident related to human errors has been identified as an important part of a strategy to improve safety. This study aimed to replicate a real flight of the MiG-29 aircraft using a centrifugebased dynamic flight simulator and to determine the simulator's accuracy in recreating inflight aircraft performance. A 60-second recording of the real flight of the MiG-29 aircraft, captured by the flight data recorder, was chosen for replication in the HTC-07 human training centrifuge simulator. To evaluate how accurately the simulator replicates the performance of the aircraft, the linear accelerations and angular velocities acting on a pilot during the real flight were compared with those during the replication of that flight in the simulator. The fit of these parameters was assessed using the root mean square percentage error (RMSPE) and the correlation coefficient (r). The highest replication accuracy was achieved for the vertical component of the linear acceleration (RMSPE=2068; r=0.98), while the worst result was obtained for the longitudinal component (RMSPE=14205; r=0.31). Inaccuracies were much more pronounced for the angular velocity. The roll angular velocity had the lowest replication error (RMSPE=12640). However, its correlation with the recorded velocity during the real flight was very weak (r=-0.02). Despite some inaccuracies in replicating other components of the acceleration and angular velocity vectors, the HTC-07 simulator seems valuable for investigating aviation incidents or accidents related to human factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study shows how to generate images and compose images in the modern simulator room by starting multiple work sessions running at the same time so that all active server stations and the station to connect to are continuously displayed. Each server handles specific functions of the simulation process and runs a dedicated software application for its specific functions. For a supervised flight simulator, the following functions need to have dedicated applications: 1) Flight Dynamics Simulation, 2) Graphical projection, 3) Cockpit and Flight instrumentation simulation and integration, 4) Supervisor station. Out of these functions, Graphical projections and Cockpit and Flight instrumentation and integration require the most computational resources. Simulators need to present the view from a cockpit which requires a field of view of at least 180 degrees. This requires at least three displays usually in the form of projectors. In legacy implementations due to computational bottlenecks, each projector needed a dedicated computer. Similarly, the Cockpit and Flight instrumentation simulation requires usually upwards of 100 flight instrument simulations and embedded processors to be managed. In legacy implementations, one computer is needed for each piloting station. In recent implementations due to the increased performance of multi-core processors, many of these functions can be handled by single computers: the flight dynamics simulation and graphical projection functions can currently be handled by a single computer, similarly, all Cockpit and Flight instrumentation simulation and integration can be handled by another computer. Thus, a minimum of three servers are required to ensure full functionality of supervised simulation using modern computing systems.

In this paper, uncertainty is included in the extended framework of global air traffic both through the action of the wind and through the incomplete determination of the aerodynamic coefficients and the inevitable imprecision involved in the execution of ATC instructions. In order to study the air conflict detection process in detail, the possibility of potential conflicts must be evaluated, considering the current state of the international airspace, and taking into account the uncertainty in calculating the future position of the aircraft. A mathematical model for predicting potential aerial conflicts is necessary for this objective. In a probabilistic framework, the mathematical model thus created could be either an empirical distribution of future aircraft positions in space or a dynamic model, such as a stochastic differential equation, that describes the movement of the aircraft and implicitly defines a distribution for the position’s future of the aircraft/ future aircraft positions. Based on the prediction model, aircraft flight safety matrices can be evaluated. The mathematical methods applied in the Detection and Resolution of Air Traffic Conflicts - CDR involve a wide range of fields, but also the appropriate modeling of physical systems such as airplanes, the codification of mathematical algorithms for conflict detection, as well as the properly applied procedures for resolving potential air conflicts.

This study presents the flight plan data related to aircraft performance and is tested against the aircraft performance database. The Significant Meteorological Information Reports - SIGMET will be generated by the system according to the selected turbulence areas by attaching different AIS data to an exercise that can change the simulation objectives. The exercise must be assigned to one or more courses to be able to attach meteorological data when viewing a data recording; changes can be made to the aircraft as in a normal exercise run, while the other instructions will be loaded from the recorded data file. A data recording is airspace dependent, changing the airspace can make the data recording fail during playback. Video Recording is only available for the RADAR Simulator. A video recording can be made at any time during a simulation session; a data recording can be selected only at the beginning of the simulation session and cannot be started during the simulation session; if the simulator is integrated with the Voice Communication System and the audio channels, then a sound recording window will automatically pop-up. For this study, an ideal case, for the configuration presentation we will assume that the 3D Tower Simulator is composed of 4 LCD/Projectors to create the out-of-the-window view, 180 degrees, 2 Pseudo-Pilots, and 1 Supervisor/FEEDER Position. The 4 image generators will be provided by SIM01, SIM02, SIM03, and SIM04. The Pseudo-Pilots positions will be provided by SIM05 and SIM06. The Supervisor/Feeder Position will be provided by SIM07. For the Tower Controller Working Positions, we will provide the following information displays: DE – Flight Data Equipment/Clearance Delivery, MET – Meteorological Information, LCP –Lights Control Panel, and a RADAR Image. Station SIM08 will be used. Stations SIM01, SIM02, SIM03, and SIM04 are equipped with one large LCD Display or a Projector; Stations SIM05 and SIM07 are equipped with 2 monitors, one for the RADAR Image and the other one for the bird-eye view over the airport; Station SIM06 is equipped with one monitor for the bird-eye view over the airport; Station SIM08 is equipped with 4 monitors providing all necessary information for the Tower Controller Working Positions. SIM07, as presented above, is the FEEDER/SUPERVISOR for the RADAR Simulator, the approach sector is “TMA” and the application will be started on the second monitor, the first monitor is used for the 3D Tower Simulator. SIM07 is also FEEDER/SUPERVIZOR for the 3D Tower Simulator, the station function will be “3DTWR” and the sector will be the previously created 3D Tower configuration, “TOWER”. On SIM08 will add a RADAR Image for the Tower Controller Working Positions, sector is “TMA”, the application will be started on monitor 4, and the station function is “TWR”. Usually, for an aircraft departing from an airport inside an approach sector, the first owner will be the tower until passing the maximum flight level/ altitude for the tower, the second owner will be the approach sector and the third owner will be the en-route sector. In this case, the tower sector has power over the approach sector, and the en-route sector, the approach sector has power over the en-route sector. The outside FIR sectors will be used in the determination of the next en-route sector, for coordination purposes. If the VFR points do not appear on the RADAR Map after the “DRAW” button has been pushed, use the “MAP MENU” – “VFR” button. The aircraft performance database is not airspace structure dependent. When a new airspace structure is created the aircraft performance database will remain unchanged.

This paper presents the main objective of Air Traffic Management Systems – ATMS that is to achieve optimized performance in terms of aviation safety and the enhancement of the current air transport system, through the in-depth study of the complex integration of all advanced technologies regarding air traffic monitoring, aeronautical communications on-board computers, display and control systems within the extended framework of Air Traffic Services - ATS. The Flight Management System - FMS is indispensable for flight planning, air navigation, flight performance management, aircraft guidance on the flight path and continuous monitoring of the progress during flight. The FMS is the device used by the flight crew to select various modes of flight control via the flight control computer - FCM and to display flight plans and other flight data via the Multi-Functional Control Display Unit - MCDU. The flight path is monitored by the MCDU and the Electronic Instrument System – EIS. The in-depth study of Air Transport Efficiency when applying air traffic service operational analysis and trajectory determination methods to identify key areas of Air Traffic Management inefficiencies and to prioritize and implement appropriate optimization methods are presented and analyzed in detail in this paper.

The object of research is motion cueing along angular degrees of freedom on flight simulators of non-maneuvering aircraft. One of the most problematic places is lack of statement and effective solution of the problem to ensure high-quality motion cues along angular degrees of freedom on flight simulators, which would correspond to motion cues along angular degrees of freedom in real flight with the same control actions. In the course of the research, on the basis of the peculiarities of human movement perception, a set of characteristic attributes of perception of motion cues is determined: character, direction, duration, intensity and time of motion perception (according to Gibson’s perception theory). Based on the system approach principles, the mathematical formulation of the solution to the problem of motion cueing along angular degrees of freedom on flight simulators of non-maneuvering aircraft is used. Such approach made it possible, taking into account the existing constructive resource of flight simulator motion system, to bring as close as possible motion cueing along angular degrees of freedom on flight simulators of non-maneuvering aircraft to motion cues along angular degrees of freedom in real flight with the same control actions. Due to this the character and direction of motion cues fully correspond to the real motion cues, the difference between the perception time of motion cues on airplane and simulator is minimal and meets the current requirements. The duration and intensity of the motion cue perception on simulator are proportional duration and intensity of motion cue perception on airplane. Such approach significantly improves the quality of training and retraining of pilots on flight simulators. Implementation of the developed problem formulation on aircraft simulators, in particular on An-74TK-200, showed its high efficiency. In the future, the proposed approach can be used on flight simulators of aircraft developed in Ukraine and modernization of operated flight simulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To migrate Loss of Control In-flight, the number one cause of aviation fatalities, pilots need to undergo upset prevention and recovery training with flight simulators. The fidelity of a moving base flight simulator is greatly dependent on the washout algorithm of the Stewart platform, which may reach the workspace limits when simulating the aircraft recovery from upset conditions. In this paper, a washout algorithm optimal design method based on the model predictive control technique is proposed for flight simulator upset prevention and recovery training. The parameters of the washout algorithm are calculated directly based on the platform model, and the system limits are explicitly taken into account. The human perception model is incorporated into the optimization problem, for which the objective is to minimize the pilot's perceived motion mismatch between the real flight and the simulator training. Simulations are conducted and compared with the classical filter-based washout algorithm. Responses of the flight simulator model show that the proposed method can improve the motion cueing effect when the aircraft is in upset conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to other information sources, motion cues provide a pilot with anticipatory information about spatial position and movement of aircraft. For motion cueing a flight simulator cockpit is installed on a motion system, movement of which motion cueing. Therefore, motion system is one of the most important components of full flight simulators. The problem of effective use of constructive resources of six-degrees of freedom synergistic motion system has been solved. But the problem of improving the motion cueing remained unsolved, due to the fact that location of motion system center of rotation is significantly different from location of aircraf’s center of gravity, and motion cues differ from real, flight one. The study subject is motion cueing on flight simulators. The problem was solved on the basis of simplified operator for transformation of motion system movements along individual degrees of freedom into jack movements, cubic spline functions to describe the dependence of the centers of rotation along pitch and yaw, and optimization theory using the deformable polyhedron method. The formulated and solved problem of taking into account of location of aircraft’s center of gravity during motion cueing along pitch and yaw increases an efficiency of using of constructive resource of a six-degrees of freedom synergistic motion system, a motion cueing fidelity and training realism on flight simulator.

This manuscript describes the computational process to calculate an airplane path and display it in a 2D and 3D coordinate system on a computer screen. The airplane movement is calculated as a function of its dynamic’s conditions according to physical and logical theory. Here, the flight is divided into maneuvers and the aircraft conditions are defined as boundary conditions. Then the aircraft position is calculated using nested loops, which execute the calculation procedure at every step time (Δt). The calculation of the aircraft displacement is obtained as a function of the aircraft speed and heading angles. The simulator was created using the C++ programming language, and each part of the algorithm was compiled independently to reduce the source code, allow easy modification, and improve the programming efficiency. Aerial navigation involves very complex phenomena to be considered for an appropriate representation; moreover, in this manuscript, the influence of the mathematical approach to properly represent the aircraft flight is described in detail. The flight simulator was successfully tested by simulating some basic theoretical flights with different maneuvers, which include stationary position, running along the way, take off, and some movements in the airspace. The maximum aircraft speed tested was 120 km/h, the maximum maneuver time was 12 min, and the space for simulation was assumed to be without obstacles. Here, the geometrical description of path and speed is analyzed according to the symmetric and asymmetric results. Finally, an analysis was conducted to evaluate the approach of the numerical methods used; after that, it was possible to confirm that precision increased as the step time was reduced. According to this analysis, no more than 500 steps are required for a good approach in the calculation of the aircraft displacement.

Visual-orientation learning of a tethered flying bee was investigated using a flight simulator and a novel protocol in which orientation preference toward trained visual targets was assessed in tests performed before and after appetitive conditioning. Either a blue or a green rectangle (conditioned stimulus, CS) was associated with 30% sucrose solution (unconditioned stimulus, US), whereas the other rectangle was not paired with US. Bees were tested in a closed-looped flight simulator 5 min after ten pairings of the US and CS. Conditioned bees were preferentially oriented to the CS after such training. This increase in preference for CS was maintained for 24 h, indicating the presence of long-term memory. Because the total orienting time was not altered by conditioning, conditioning did not enhance orientation activity itself but increased the relative time for orientation to CS. When 0.4 or 4 mM epinastine (an antagonist of octopamine receptors) was injected into the bee's head 30 min prior to the experiment, both short- and long-term memory formation were significantly impaired, suggesting that octopamine, which is crucial for appetitive olfactory learning in insects, is also involved in visual orientation learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, with the development of technology, the usage fields of simulators are diversely increasing. Simulators can find a place for themselves in every sector, and they also play a major role in aviation and space studies. In this study, a new spherical flight simulator was designed and the nonlinear dynamics of the spherical flight simulator was mathematically modelled using the Newton-Euler method. The derived mathematical model was used in the controller design for the spherical flight simulator. In the controller design, pole placement method and linear quadratic regulator method (LQR) were chosen and these methods were compared. The mathematical simulation of the system was performed in the SIMULINK environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of the study is a six degrees-of-freedom motion system of the synergistic type of a flight simulator. The latter is the main technical means for training pilots and means of research and development of aircraft. The task of optimal utilization of its structural resources was solved, which provides an opportunity to improve the quality of motion cueing. The result is the deve)loped method, which ensures optimal use of structural resources of motion systems of flight simulators. This is explained, first of all, by the use of the developed simplified operator for converting the movements of jacks into the movement of a motion system along individual degrees of freedom on the basis of quadratic approxi)mation. Given this, it became possible to describe the coordinates of the centers of the axes of rotation of the motion system by cubic spline functions. Secondly, the solution of the task of estimating the structural resources of the motion system along linear degrees of freedom on the basis of the developed criterion was carried out by an effective modified method of the deformed polyhedron. This method combines the random search method in the first steps of the search and the gradient method in determining the global extremum. Thirdly, the problem of determining the dependence of the coordinates of the pitch and yaw axes along the pitch angle was stated and solved. Owing to the optimal utilization of the structural resources of motion systems, the coordinates of the axis of their rotation along pitch are as close as possible to the coordinate of the axis of the aircraft. Thus, the quality of motion cueing on the flight simulator is significantly increased and it is possible to use motion systems with shorter lengths of jacks, and therefore, to reduce the cost of their manufacture and operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the flight plan data related to aircraft performance and is tested against the aircraft performance database. The Significant Meteorological Information Reports - SIGMET will be generated by the system according to the selected turbulence areas by attaching different AIS data to an exercise that can change the simulation objectives. The exercise must be assigned to one or more courses to be able to attach meteorological data when viewing a data recording; changes can be made to the aircraft as in a normal exercise run, while the other instructions will be loaded from the recorded data file. A data recording is airspace dependent, changing the airspace can make the data recording fail during playback. Video Recording is only available for the RADAR Simulator. A video recording can be made at any time during a simulation session; a data recording can be selected only at the beginning of the simulation session and cannot be started during the simulation session; if the simulator is integrated with the Voice Communication System and the audio channels, then a sound recording window will automatically pop-up. For this study, an ideal case, for the configuration presentation we will assume that the 3D Tower Simulator is composed of 4 LCD/Projectors to create the out-of-thewindow view, 180 degrees, 2 Pseudo-Pilots, and 1 Supervisor/FEEDER Position. The 4 image generators will be provided by SIM01, SIM02, SIM03, and SIM04. The Pseudo-Pilots positions will be provided by SIM05 and SIM06. The Supervisor/Feeder Position will be provided by SIM07. For the Tower Controller Working Positions, we will provide the following information displays: DE - Flight Data Equipment/Clearance Delivery, MET - Meteorological Information, LCP -Lights Control Panel, and a RADAR Image. Station SIM08 will be used. Stations SIM01, SIM02, SIM03, and SIM04 are equipped with one large LCD Display or a Projector; Stations SIM05 and SIM07 are equipped with 2 monitors, one for the RADAR Image and the other one for the bird-eye view over the airport; Station SIM06 is equipped with one monitor for the bird-eye view over the airport; Station SIM08 is equipped with 4 monitors providing all necessary information for the Tower Controller Working Positions. SIM07, as presented above, is the FEEDER/SUPERVISOR for the RADAR Simulator, the approach sector is "TMA" and the application will be started on the second monitor, the first monitor is used for the 3D Tower Simulator. SIM07 is also FEEDER/SUPERVIZOR for the 3D Tower Simulator, the station function will be "3DTWR" and the sector will be the previously created 3D Tower configuration, "TOWER". On SIM08 will add a RADAR Image for the Tower Controller Working Positions, sector is "TMA", the application will be started on monitor 4, and the station function is "TWR". Usually, for an aircraft departing from an airport inside an approach sector, the first owner will be the tower until passing the maximum flight level/altitude for the tower, the second owner will be the approach sector and the third owner will be the en-route sector. In this case, the tower sector has power over the approach sector, and the en-route sector, the approach sector has power over the en-route sector. The outside FIR sectors will be used in the determination of the next en-route sector, for coordination purposes. If the VFR points do not appear on the RADAR Map after the "DRAW" button has been pushed, use the "MAP MENU" - "VFR" button. The aircraft performance database is not airspace structure dependent. When a new airspace structure is created the aircraft performance database will remain unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the main objective of Air Traffic Management Systems - ATMS that is to achieve optimized performance in terms of aviation safety and the enhancement of the current air transport system, through the in-depth study of the complex integration of all advanced technologies regarding air traffic monitoring, aeronautical communications on-board computers, display and control systems within the extended framework of Air Traffic Services - ATS. The Flight Management System - FMS is indispensable for flight planning, air navigation, flight performance management, aircraft guidance on the flight path and continuous monitoring of the progress during flight. The FMS is the device used by the flight crew to select various modes of flight control via the flight control computer - FCM and to display flight plans and other flight data via the Multi-Functional Control Display Unit - MCDU. The flight path is monitored by the MCDU and the Electronic Instrument System - EIS. The in-depth study of Air Transport Efficiency when applying air traffic service operational analysis and trajectory determination methods to identify key areas of Air Traffic Management inefficiencies and to prioritize and implement appropriate optimization methods are presented and analyzed in detail in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, uncertainty is included in the extended framework of global air traffic both through the action of the wind and through the incomplete determination of the aerodynamic coefficients and the inevitable imprecision involved in the execution of ATC instructions. In order to study the air conflict detection process in detail, the possibility of potential conflicts must be evaluated, considering the current state of the international airspace, and taking into account the uncertainty in calculating the future position of the aircraft. A mathematical model for predicting potential aerial conflicts is necessary for this objective. In a probabilistic framework, the mathematical model thus created could be either an empirical distribution of future aircraft positions in space or a dynamic model, such as a stochastic differential equation, that describes the movement of the aircraft and implicitly defines a distribution for the position's future of the aircraft/future aircraft positions. Based on the prediction model, aircraft flight safety matrices can be evaluated. The mathematical methods applied in the Detection and Resolution of Air Traffic Conflicts - CDR involve a wide range of fields, but also the appropriate modeling of physical systems such as airplanes, the codification of mathematical algorithms for conflict detection, as well as the properly applied procedures for resolving potential air conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study shows how to generate images and compose images in the modern simulator room by starting multiple work sessions running at the same time so that all active server stations and the station to connect to are continuously displayed. Each server handles specific functions of the simulation process and runs a dedicated software application for its specific functions. For a supervised flight simulator, the following functions need to have dedicated applications: 1) Flight Dynamics Simulation, 2) Graphical projection, 3) Cockpit and Flight instrumentation simulation and integration, 4) Supervisor station. Out of these functions, Graphical projections and Cockpit and Flight instrumentation and integration require the most computational resources. Simulators need to present the view from a cockpit which requires a field of view of at least 180 degrees. This requires at least three displays usually in the form of projectors. In legacy implementations due to computational bottlenecks, each projector needed a dedicated computer. Similarly, the Cockpit and Flight instrumentation simulation requires usually upwards of 100 flight instrument simulations and embedded processors to be managed. In legacy implementations, one computer is needed for each piloting station. In recent implementations due to the increased performance of multi-core processors, many of these functions can be handled by single computers: the flight dynamics simulation and graphical projection functions can currently be handled by a single computer, similarly, all Cockpit and Flight instrumentation simulation and integration can be handled by another computer. Thus, a minimum of three servers are required to ensure full functionality of supervised simulation using modern computing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the design and development of a low-cost virtual reality (VR) based flight simulator with cognitive load estimation feature using ocular and EEG signals. Focus is on exploring methods to evaluate pilot’s interactions with aircraft by means of quantifying pilot’s perceived cognitive load under different task scenarios. Realistic target tracking and context of the battlefield is designed in VR. Head mounted eye gaze tracker and EEG headset are used for acquiring pupil diameter, gaze fixation, gaze direction and EEG theta, alpha, and beta band power data in real time. We developed an AI agent model in VR and created scenarios of interactions with the piloted aircraft. To estimate the pilot’s cognitive load, we used low-frequency pupil diameter variations, fixation rate, gaze distribution pattern, EEG signal-based task load index and EEG task engagement index. We compared the physiological measures of workload with the standard user’s inceptor control-based workload metrics. Results of the piloted simulation study indicate that the metrics discussed in the paper have strong association with pilot’s perceived task difficulty.

During training sessions in an aviation university, it is advisable to demonstrate samples of aeronautical equipment, individual elements of systems and units or to use some specialized stands and posters. However, when conducting classes online, not all these materials can be used, since it is not always accomplishable to demonstrate them in dynamics and thereby to ensure the students’ complete understanding of the object being studied. The article deals with the issue of enhancing visibility and efficiency of training pilot trainees by using software applications during the educational process, which simulate the operation of the Central Data System, information from which is displayed in the real aircraft in the form of frames on multipurpose displays in the cockpit. Working with the developed program allows student pilots to gain the required practical skills while interacting with the avionics suite. In order to implement the simulation program of the Central Data System operation into the educational process, I-frames, shown on the DA-42T aircraft multipurpose displays, were reproduced. The content of the developed frames completely repeats the DA-42T aircraft indication, which contributes to improving the quality of training and honing practical skills for aircraft operation. The structure and the procedure of designing the program to simulate the Central Data System operation are described. The selection of software for the development of the Central Data System simulation program is substantiated. The feasibility of integrating the developed program into the flight simulator is described. The applicability of using the software program for distance training of aviation specialists, as well as of the implementation of the results obtained into the educational process of aviation universities is provided.

Pilot training has been, for decades, aided by flight simulators with different characteristics and degrees of fidelity. However, many studies indicate that, despite the recognized contribution of simulator training, actual flying practice is still necessary, depending on the trained task. This work introduces the proposal of using augmented reality for in-flight training, where elements in the environment outside the aircraft are displayed through an augmented reality headset to create a simulation scenario. The training of basic formation flight is used as an example, as it requires flying with at least two aircraft, resulting in high operational costs and risk of collision between aircraft. In this case, the augmented reality system replaces the real leader aircraft with a projection. In order to evaluate the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of this proposal, this work presents a prototype of an augmented reality system integrated into a flight simulator to conduct an evaluation campaign. We investigate how the introduction of the augmented reality system impacts on human factors, such as stress and workload, as well as performance. Although the results obtained in a simulated environment are not equivalent to those from an in-flight campaign, the experimental campaign performed in the flight simulator provides a way of evaluating the impact on the pilot of some aspects of the proposed solution, such as the performance of occlusion routines and some ergonomic aspects of the augmented reality headset.

Acceleration tracking is a significant problem in aeronautics, automotive, and biomedical technical areas because its solution may yield effective simulation of motion cues. In the case of aeronautics, the proper solution for the tracking problem improves the in-flight simulations for the training of plane pilots. These simulators can be set up using robotic devices that develop controlled motions with the end-effector following the required three-dimensional reference accelerations robustly. Hence, the primary goal of this study is the effective application of the integral sliding mode controller to solve the acceleration tracking problem for the end-effector of a two-link robotic arm. The control design problem is formulated as an optimization of a convex (non-strict) performance functional depending on the difference between the acceleration of the robotic arm and the desired acceleration using the averaged sub-gradient (ASG) descendant method. A novel sliding surface considers the sensitiveness threshold for acceleration dynamics, inspired by the limit of detection in the pilot vestibular apparatus. The proposed controller was analyzed in terms of the finite-time convergence of the sliding surface and the practical stability analysis for the tracking error dynamics. Our main contribution is the design of the online averaged sub-gradient optimization controller based on integral SMCs. The controller solves the end-effector acceleration tracking for a two-link robotic arm, which implements a simplified version of a flight simulator that is considered to be operated under uncertain scenarios and assumes the presence of perturbations and modeling errors. The controller considers the case of incomplete knowledge of the robotic arm model, which adds an extra degree of robustness to the control design. The numerical evaluations demonstrate the attributes of the ASG formulation compared to traditional state feedback control, using the performance functional, the norm of the acceleration tracking error, and the control input variation • In the case of aeronautics, the proper solution for the tracking problem improves the in-flight simulations for the training of plane pilots. • The application of the integral sliding mode control solves the acceleration tracking problem for the end-effector of a two-link robotic arm. • The control design problem is formulated as an optimization of a convex (non-strict) performance functional. • A novel sliding surface considers the sensitiveness threshold for acceleration dynamics, based on the pilot vestibular apparatus. • The proposed control provides a finite-time convergence of the sliding surface and practical stability analysis for tracking error. robustness for the control design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the improvement of modern aviation equipment manufacturing technology, there are relatively few failures due to the unreliability of the aircraft. However, human factors which resulted in air crashes and unsafe events are raised. In this paper, for many typical accident scenarios of a particular plane, the flight simulation verifications of the pilot's workload and behavior are carried out on the certain transport category airplane, namely the six-degrees-of-freedom full-motion flight simulator. The subjective and physiological evaluation methods combine to analyze the human factors of pilots in the sudden typical accident scene during a flight mission. The study uses eye trackers, professional heart rate monitors, cameras, and other equipment to collect the pilot's physiological information during the flight mission, and allows the pilots to fill in the subjective evaluation scale, establishing a subjective and objective evaluation index system. Thus, the human factors of pilots in typical fault situations are analyzed. The analysis shows the combined personal and accurate evaluation method, with the test equipment and environment proposed by this paper being feasible for the human factor evaluation in the accident or incident of transport category airplanes. It will benefit aviation stakeholders in determining the proper action to decrease the workload to an acceptable level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to other information sources, motion cues provide a pilot with anticipatory information about spatial position and movement of aircraft. For motion cueing a flight simulator cockpit is installed on a motion system, movement of which motion cueing. Therefore, motion system is one of the most important components of full flight simulators. The problem of effective use of constructive resources of six-degrees of freedom synergistic motion system has been solved. But the problem of improving the motion cueing remained unsolved, due to the fact that location of motion system center of rotation is significantly different from location of aircraf’s center of gravity, and motion cues differ from real, flight one. The study subject is motion cueing on flight simulators. The problem was solved on the basis of simplified operator for transformation of motion system movements along individual degrees of freedom into jack movements, cubic spline functions to describe the dependence of the centers of rotation along pitch and yaw, and optimization theory using the deformable polyhedron method. The formulated and solved problem of taking into account of location of aircraft’s center of gravity during motion cueing along pitch and yaw increases an efficiency of using of constructive resource of a six-degrees of freedom synergistic motion system, a motion cueing fidelity and training realism on flight simulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective processing of information from the sense of sight affects the efficiency and safety of flight operations. Differences in visual behavior between pilots with varying levels of flight experience during basic flight maneuvers were identified as the research problem. Twenty-six pilots participated in the study and were divided in terms of flight experience. The participants' visual behavior was recorded using a Pupil Invisible eye tracker. The test subjects' task was to take off from Poznań-Ławica airport, climbing to 2000ft and making two turns. The results of the study suggest that performing basic maneuvers develops strategies for scanning the cockpit space. It is advisable to conduct further research taking into account the division of experts into groups with varying numbers of flying hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing popularity of vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicles (VTOL UAVs), a new problem arises: pilot training. Most conventional pilot training simulators are designed for full-scale aircrafts, while most UAV simulators are just focused on conceptual testing and design validation. The X-Plane flight simulator was extended to include new functionalities such as complex wind dynamics, ground effect, and accurate real-time weather. A commercial HIL flight controller was coupled with a VTOL convertiplane UAV model to provide realistic flight control. A real flight case scenario was tested in simulation to show the importance of including an accurate wind model. The result is a complete simulation environment that has been successfully deployed for pilot training of the Marvin aircraft manufactured by FuVeX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid rocket boosters are commonly used for launching sounding rockets due to their simplicity and power-ness. The shape and geometry of the propellant grain determine the thrust-time profile which has a significant effect on rocket performance. In practical application, the thrust profile has three typical curves; regressive, neutral, and progressive. A great deal of studies has been focused on optimizing the trajectory based on various state variables in which the profile of the thrust-time curve was not among those variables. In this research, design variables were the thrust profile, the object function was maximizing the altitude subjected to constraints of a fixed amount of fuel. The trajectory was found by solving the equations of motion. For comparison purposes, the trajectory was also found using JSBSim, an open-source flight dynamic simulator. In the results of the optimization process, the input thrust-time curve was evolved into an unusual shape, the letter "V" shaped. In this type of profile, the thrust curve starts regressively until reaches zero value at the middle of the burning time and then continues progressively until the end. This behavior can be satisfied only by two-stage boosters. Thus, these results show that two-stage boosters perform better than single-stage. The improvement is obtained by consuming the solid propellant more efficiently allowing fewer energy losses. This reason is added to the fact that two-stage boosters allow reducing the total masses due to the cassette separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the operator's cognitive workload is crucial for efficiency and safety in human–machine systems. This study investigated how cognitive workload modulates cardiac autonomic regulation during a standardized military simulator flight. Military student pilots completed simulated flight tasks in a Hawk flight simulator. Continuous electrocardiography was recorded to analyze time and frequency domain heart rate variability (HRV). After the simulation, a flight instructor used a standardized method to evaluate student pilot's individual cognitive workload from video-recorded flight simulator data. Results indicated that HRV was able to differentiate flight phases that induced varying levels of cognitive workload; an increasing level of cognitive workload caused significant decreases in many HRV variables, mainly reflecting parasympathetic deactivation of cardiac autonomic regulation. In conclusion, autonomic physiological responses can be used to examine reactions to increased cognitive workload during simulated military flights. HRV could be beneficial in assessing individual responses to cognitive workload and pilot performance during simulator training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To migrate Loss of Control In-flight, the number one cause of aviation fatalities, pilots need to undergo upset prevention and recovery training with flight simulators. The fidelity of a moving base flight simulator is greatly dependent on the washout algorithm of the Stewart platform, which may reach the workspace limits when simulating the aircraft recovery from upset conditions. In this paper, a washout algorithm optimal design method based on the model predictive control technique is proposed for flight simulator upset prevention and recovery training. The parameters of the washout algorithm are calculated directly based on the platform model, and the system limits are explicitly taken into account. The human perception model is incorporated into the optimization problem, for which the objective is to minimize the pilot’s perceived motion mismatch between the real flight and the simulator training. Simulations are conducted and compared with the classical filter-based washout algorithm. Responses of the flight simulator model show that the proposed method can improve the motion cueing effect when the aircraft is in upset conditions.

With the rapid growth of aviation joint combat training and aviation equipment combat test requirements, LVC simulation technology presents the trend of rapid technological progress and frequent demonstration and verification. Military and industrial departments at home and abroad continue to study LVC related technologies. By taking advantage of LVC technology in improving scene fidelity, cost-effectiveness ratio and security, LVC can play a greater role in the military field. In terms of analyzing the requirements and development characteristics of LVC technology, the paper comprehensively combs the development status of joint training and related combat tests of aviation soldiers based on LVC technology. Combined with the research basis and deployment in foreign related fields, the development characteristics and development trend of LVC technology in US are summarized.

The paper presents the concept of a control unit, i.e., a scenario player, for interactive training pilots in flight simulators. This scenario player is modelled as a hierarchy of finite state machines. Such an approach makes it possible to separate the details of an augmented reality display device which is used in training, from the core module of the system, responsible for contextual organization of the content. Therefore, the first contribution of this paper is the mathematical model of the scenario player as a universal formulation of the self-trained control unit for interactive learning systems, which is applicable in a variety of situations not limited solely to flight simulator related procedures. The second contribution is an experimental verification achieved by extensive simulations of the model, which proves that the proposed approach is capable to properly self-organize details of the context information by tracing preferences of the end users. For that latter purpose, the original algorithm is derived from statistical analysis, including Bayesian inference. The whole approach is illustrated by a real application of training the preflight procedure for the captain of the Boeing 737 aircraft in a flight simulator.

During training sessions at an aviation university, it is advisable to demonstrate samples of aviation equipment, individual elements of systems and assemblies, or use specialized stands and posters. However, when conducting classes remotely, not all of these materials can be used, since it is not always possible to show them in dynamics and thus ensure the formation of a clear idea of students about the object being studied. The article considers an example of using a flight simulator in the educational process as a means of visualizing aviation equipment during a practical lesson "Flight data processing". Visual perception of the materials of objective control does not give a complete understanding of the dynamics of the aircraft flight, its attitude while executing pilotage and aerobatics elements, therefore, it is necessary to demonstrate the performance of flight elements with the simultaneous display of flight parameters in a graphical form. For this purpose, the X-Plane flight simulator is used, for interaction with which a project has been developed in the SimInTech environment that implements data exchange for flight control of an aircraft model and registration of parametric information for its further analysis. Schemes for simulating the operation of on-board recording devices are described. The ways of solving the tasks are described. The possibility of using the developed projects for remote training of aviation specialists, as well as the implementation of the results obtained in the educational process of aviation universities, is indicated.

Aircraft flight simulators have good cost efficiency, high reusability, and high flight safety. All airlines and aircraft manufacturing companies choose it as sophisticated training equipment for ground simulation, effectively reducing pilot training costs, ensuring personnel safety and aircraft wear and tear. The new simulator proposed in this paper combines a digital motion-cueing algorithm, flight software and motion platform to make pilots feel as if they are in the real world. By using EtherCAT technology to drive the motion-cueing platform, it can improve the data transmission speed of the simulator as well as the strong anti-interference ability of communication and the control operation efficiency. Therefore, the simulated flight subjects can perform long-distance and large-angle training. Next, a set of measurement systems was established to provide monitoring items including attitude, velocity and acceleration, which can be displayed on the screen and recorded on the computer in real time and dynamically. Finally, seven training subjects were implemented to demonstrate the feasibility and correctness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]