OVERVIEW OF PATH PLANNING FOR HELICOPTERS WITH RESPECT TO PILOT ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS

Abstract

This paper summarises the design of an assistance system for manned helicopters consisting of a dedicated trajectory generation helping the pilot in pre-flight planning and therefore reducing the navigational workload. The trajectory planning is subdivided into three parts, according to different flight situations: takeoff, en-route and approach. For every part special algorithms are designed to generate optimal trajectories with respect to particular requirements. To identify and to meet some of these requirements within the trajectory planning, a multipart survey is conducted. The results are examined statistically to classify the pilot behaviour. The achieved parameters are used as basis for the trajectory planning and are preferred, as long as performance limits, regulations or flight manual limitations are not exceeded. The calculated trajectory will be adapted to the pilot to meet his requirements and to ensure a sophisticated flight path generation.