Identifying Stereotypical Inceptor-Movement Pairings for eVTOL Hover and Forward Flight

Abstract

Verbatim from Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

Urban Air Mobility is becoming a reality. Joby Aviation, Volocopter, and Supernal are developing and manufacturing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts to fly passengers in metropolitan areas. To simplify the task of flying, eVTOLs will rely on a range of features including simple vehicle operations (SVO), fly-by-wire, and automation technology to reduce pilot training time and the expertise required for safe operation. However, low time or novice pilots will be required to learn and understand how to fly an aircraft that takes-off, hovers, and lands much like helicopters and transitions into forward flight similar to a fixed-wing aircraft. It is important to research stimulus-response compatibility of aircraft movements in relation to inceptor control to reduce training time and improve safety. This project investigates how individuals of varying flight experience intuitively map movements of left and right dual stick inceptors to video clips of simple and complex aircraft movements. We aim to identify the stereotypical movement pairings to create control schemes for both hover and forward flight that can be further tested using Handling Qualities Task Elements and quantitative flight performance metrics. This project will be proposed in Spring 2024 as a portion of a Human Factors PhD dissertation.

Authors

• Patel, Shivani Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Chaparro, Alex Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• Urban Air Mobility
• eVTOLs
• Human Factors
• Inceptor Controls
• Stereotypical Mapping
• Human Factors Psychology