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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 0075.PDF
TECHNOLOGY SIMULATION GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC Tactical flight simulator set to provide high-gtra'ning Environmental Tectonics claims centrifuge-based TFS outstrips current fighter capability A centrifuge-based flight simulator which combines high-# and tactical training is nearing completion at Environmental Tectonics (ETC). The US company believes its sustained-,? tactical flight simulator (TFS) will provide higher fidelity training for fighter pilots than traditional fixed- based dome simulators. ETC, based in Southampton, Pennsylvania, is a leading manufac turer of centrifuges for aeromedical applications. It has produced G-LAB devices for spatial disorientation training, and G-FET dynamic flight simulators for high-# training of fighter pilots. The G-FET II TFS is an evolution of the latter device. The hydraulic motion bases on conventional flight simulators give only transient, \ow-g motion cues. As a result, most fighter simulators are fixed-based devices relying on wide-angle, high-resolution visual systems to provide motion cues. The inability to simulate high sus tained g and high #-onset rates results in negative training, says ETC vice-president Dick Leland. The TFS has a high-fidelity cock pit, with visual system, mounted in a gimballed gondola on the end of a 7.6m- (25ft) long rotating arm. The centrifuge-based device generates a maximum of 2Sg and #-onset rates up to \Sg/s. This is well beyond the capability of today's fighters, which are limited to a sustained 9g, with onset rates up to 9g/s, by the pilot's g tolerance. ETC's G-LABs are already used to assess and improve g tolerance by exposing pilots to sustained high g and teaching them mti-g straining techniques. The G-FET adds the ability to move the gondola inde pendently of the arm and allows "g- pointing" - aligning the g vector as in a manoeuvring aircraft. "We can stress the pilot as in the air," says Leland, allowing simulator training to be substituted for flying. In addition to a number of G-LABs in service worldwide, there are three G-FETs in Japan, Singapore and the USA. These are already used to train fighter pilots in recovery from unusual attitudes and depar ture from controlled flight, which are too risky to be performed in the aircraft and cannot be simulated otherwise, says Leland. The G-FET II adds high-fidelity aircraft and environment simulations, allowing the device to be used for tactical flight training. ETC expects to complete its first TFS within three to six months and Leland says several countries have expressed interest in the device, which will be offered with interchangeable cockpit modules, designed to simulate different fighter types. When not in the cen trifuge, the modules can be plugged into docking stations and used as stand-alone or networked fixed-base simulators, he says. SAFETY Infrared kit detects ice Aircraft de-icing company NICE Aircraft Services and Support is testing a new infrared-based ice detection system, developed by its US parent company Cox, at Germany's Frankfurt airport. Tests of the Contamination Detection System (CDS), mounted on an aircraft de-icing unit, started at the end of last month. The system is designed to identify the formation of ice in bad visibility, including difficult light and weather conditions, and can detect the formation of ice from 0.5mm (0.02in) layers, including in areas already de- iced. The system comprises a video camera that scans the aircraft, with icy areas showing up in red. The CDS will speed up the de-icing process, by removing the need for checks by hand when frozen contamination is not visible. Testing of the system will continue at Frankfurt through the winter, says Weyer Indutec, Cox's representative in Germany and Central Europe, after which a certification process will be determined. TILTROTOR Bold VTOL concept gets the model treatment An unorthodox vertical take-off and landing aircraft is to be tested in model form by the University of West Virginia. The "single tilt-rotor" AeroCopter Humming concept is the brainchild of telecommunica tions entrepreneur Rouzbeh Yassini. The Humming has an annular rotor driven by small jet engines mounted on the outer ring. A lifting-body fuselage sits inside the non-rotating inner ring. The rotor spins in the horizontal plane for ver tical take-off, then tilts around a shaft passing through the fuselage for the transition to forward flight. In hover mode, the Humming is controlled via horizontal and vertical tailrotors mounted on the fuselage, transitioning to flaperon and rudder control in cruise mode. AeroCopter co-founder Siamak Yassini, an aerospace engineer, says the baseline 26t 50-seat Humming would have an eight-blade annular rotor with an outer diameter of 24m (80ft) and inner diameter of 18m, rotating at 60-120RPM under the power of four 8001b-thrust (3.5kN) turbofans, and be able to take off and land vertically, cruising at 350kt (640km/h) at 37,000ft (12,100m) and covering 2,600km (l,400nm). So far, AeroCopter, based in Andover, Massachusetts, only has computer simulations to back its bold claims for the concept, although Rouzbeh Yassini believes these "have proved its feasibility". The next step is to make a 3m-span radio-controlled scale model of the Humming to see whether it will actually fly. AeroCopter is proceed ing with preliminary design of an operational vehicle, funded by Yas- sini's investment firm YAS Ventures. www.flightintemational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 8-14 JANUARY 2002 21
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