Simulator experiments for modeling helicopter pilot in roll tracking task

Simulator experiments with pilots in the loop were used to identify the pilot model for helicopter in a roll tracking flight task. Experiments were conducted with several pilots with different flight experience levels, for several mission task elements with defined input forcing function as part of the commanded roll signal presented to the pilot visually. Variants of the mission task elements included two different displays, namely a primary flight display and a helmet mounted display. Another variation of the mission task elements was the inclusion of the pilot visual guidance algorithm that would bring the rotorcraft to the specified waypoint in an adaptive manner with respect to the current rotorcraft position. The frequency characteristics of the pilot model and pilot-vehicle system identified from the experiments were compared with the optimized pilot model for different variants of the mission task elements.