Ground-based Simulation of Upset Recovery in DESDEMONA: Aspects of Motion Cueing and Motion Perception

Unsuccessful recovery from unusual flight attitudes, or “airplane upset”, is considered an important factor in civil aviation accidents. It is generally recognized that there is a clear need for enhanced training of recovery procedures from unusual flight attitudes, i.e. situations where an aircraft unintentionally exceeds the parameters of the normal flight
envelope. Exercising these conditions in the real world is unsafe, expensive and, if performed in smaller aircraft, not representative of the situation in commercial aircraft. Ground-based simulation of these extreme conditions is an interesting alternative for pilot instruction. However, at present, hexapod-based flight simulators used for pilot training are not certified for this purpose. Desdemona, a novel simulation facility, offers an extended motion envelope with enhanced motion capabilities which may prove adequate to simulate upset recovery events. The six degrees-of-freedom motion system features a gimbaled gondola which allows for unlimited rotation about three axes. In addition, the gondola can move up and down along a 2m long heave axis, and horizontally along an 8m long linear track. This track can be rotated on a planetary axis so as to produce a sustained linear acceleration up to 3G. The cockpit contains a projection system for out-the-window imagery, and can be reconfigured into different cockpit layouts. Desdemona has become operational in January 2008. This paper discusses the preliminary concepts for the simulation of upset recovery conditions based on the unique Desdemona motion features. This paper also introduces the motion envelope of upset conditions in support of pilot training.