Autorotation is an emergency maneuver executed by helicopter pilots usually following a loss of power, mechanical or system failure. The pilot is required to perform several tasks simultaneously and the timing of each of these must be precisely controlled. Workload can be high throughout the maneuver and the consequences of getting things wrong can be serious, if not fatal. Following on from a series of studies that investigated the use of both head-up displays and haptic cueing methods to assist pilots to fly the maneuver more safely and consistently, Prof. Jump will present a pilot-in-the-loop flight simulation study to explore the use of pilot cues provided on a head-down display. These provided pitch angle (and hence airspeed) cueing to the pilot. The cueing symbology was tested for a straight-in autorotation approach for a number of different visual environments and the results compared to equivalent cases where no cueing was present. The cues were assessed both subjectively, via pilots providing Bedford Pilot Workload Ratings, as well as objectively, via analysis of the flight path performance achieved. The subjective evaluation showed that cues using the head-down display were useful in terms of pilot workload reduction, particularly for the degraded visual environment scenario tested. The objective assessment revealed that pilots were able to establish the steady state descent more quickly and maintain forward airspeed within the specified bounds more reliably with the aid of the cues.

Short bio:

With an Aerospace industrial background, Prof. Michael Jump is Professor of Aerospace Systems at the University of Liverpool. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Bristol University in the UK and then took a position as an aerodynamicist at what is now BAE Systems, working primarily on Typhoon development but also on Tornado, Hawk and even a Canberra project. He moved back into academia, gaining his PhD in 2007, investigating the use of Tau Theory as applied to pilot display systems at the University of Liverpool under the supervision of Prof. Gareth Padfield. Mike was retained at the University as a Lecturer in the same year and became Senior Lecturer in 2014. Having been the PI on a wide range of collaborative research projects such as EC FP7 myCopter (http://www.mycopter.eu/ ↗), ARISTOTEL (http://www.aristotel-project.eu/ ↗) and H2020 PAsCAL (https://www.pascal-project.eu/concept ↗) as well as leading a successful Impact Case Study for the UK’s Research Excellence Framework, he was awarded a Personal Chair in 2023. Mike’s research interests span rotorcraft handling qualities, modelling and simulation, novel vehicle design as well as the development of novel algorithms, techniques and pilot cues to enhance rotorcraft safety. He sits on the Vertical Flight Society’s Handling Qualities Technical Committee and is an Associate Editor for a number of Journals. Mike leads the University’s undergraduate aerospace engineering design modules and is Chair of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s General Aviation Design Specialist Group. He is an active private pilot and recently qualified as a flying instructor.

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4.7.2023