Acceptability Assessment Preparation for Isometric Backup-Mode of Active Inceptors

Abstract

The inherent isometric back-up mode of an active side stick which uses the force signal as command signal after a potential stick jam failure is subject of a current DLR study. The failure effects and the handling qualities of the backup mode were evaluated experimentally in a piloted simulation. Two pilots tested the back-up mode in two different mission-task-elements, slalom and hover, for two different response types, rate command and attitude command. The backup-mode was rated handling quality level II. The effect of a sudden transition from nominal mode to failure mode was rated as minor. It is strongly suggested to train the pilots to be able to deal with the sudden change of control behavior at the transition. Only qualitative evaluations were done so far.