Conduction of Mission Task Elements within Simulator Flight Tests for Handling Quality Evaluation of an eVTOL Aircraft

摘要

The development of the electrical Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft is a new field in the aerospace industry that has seen a strong emergence in recent years. However, due to its current relevance, most projects and documentation are confidential or not yet released. This paper deals with the evaluation of the handling qualities of an eVTOL aircraft - currently under development - by means of the planning, conduction and rating of virtual flight tests within a fixed-based simulator. The analysis of the handling qualities of an aerial vehicle plays a key role in designing a flight control system, since the controllability of the aerial vehicle is crucial. Within this work, a series of Mission Task Elements are conducted by multiple pilots and their performance is evaluated. The Mission Task Elements are originally designed for military rotorcraft, but they are adapted for the studied aerial vehicle. The aim is to assess the current state of the flight control system in terms of handling qualities. Moreover, the influence of previous flight experience of the pilots on their performances are studied as a secondary aspect. This research is not only focused on the quantitative analysis of the conducted simulator tests, but also on the qualitative assessments by pilots using the Cooper-Harper Rating scale. Based on the qualitative and the quantitative results, technical improvements are suggested for the flight control system as well as the simulator, which are both at an early maturity level. The goal is to identify drawbacks and flaws as early as possible in the early development of the flight control system and its human machine interfaces.