Effects of Varying Levels of Autopilot Assistance and Workload on Pilot Performance in the Helicopter Formation Flight Mode
Abstract
The objective of the study was to evaluate pilot performance in manual IFR formation flight with varying levels of autopilot assistance and pilot workload. The study was conducted for a conventional helicopter, i.e., the UH-1 Iroquois, and an advanced vehicle, the AH-56 Cheyenne. Man-in-the-loop simulations of these vehicles were conducted to evaluate pilot performance under six levels of autopilot assistance, ranging in sophistication from the free vehicle to outer loop hold modes in heading and altitude, and under three levels of pilot workload, consisting of a forced-pace, secondary concomitant task. Results of the study, within the constraints imposed by the simulation, indicated that increasing the level of autopilot assistance resulted in a less demanding task for the pilot and provided greater system stability. This was borne out in terms of both quantitative performance data and pilot opinion. However, position errors were not consistently reduced beyond the levels obtained during manual flight control modes where the highly quickened display was used. Only at the highest workload level tested did autopilot assistance serve to reduce the position errors from what was experienced under the manual control conditions. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0706001
Entities
People
- Myrna L. Toivanen
- Paul A. Anderson
Organizations
- Honeywell International, Inc.