Creating an Aircraft Handling Qualities Simulator for the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School

Test pilot school graduates must have a solid understanding of aircraft flying qualities and handling qualities. The USAF Test Pilot School has traditionally used classroom instruction followed by in-flight demonstration of test techniques to provide graduates with this understanding. Flying qualities simulation has traditionally seen little use at test pilot schools because high-quality simulators are exclusively designed to re-create particular aircraft. This type of simulator, while valuable for pilot training, adds little to a TPS curriculum except a reduction of fidelity and elimination of motion cues–it can only show how a particular aircraft behaves. Recent advances in desktop computer technology and electrically-driven inceptors have allowed the authors at the USAF TPS to create a handling qualities simulator that can used as a flying qualities laboratory, a handling qualities research device, and a force multiplier for increasingly valuable curriculum sorties. Built by the authors with off-the-shelf hardware, USAF-owned visual display technology, and opensource software, the TPS flying qualities simulation laboratory can provide everything from complex demonstrations on variable stability platforms to unsupervised operation of almost unlimited aircraft types. It can also be linked with control rooms for test team training. This low-cost platform is revolutionizing flying qualities instruction at the USAF TPS and may be a valuable addition to other academic institutions.