ALiTrain

Aims of ALiTrain

The main objective of the ALiTrain project is to evaluate new training simulators with the use of virtual/mixed reality technologies. In particular, the question of training effectiveness is to be examined, i.e. the transferability of training results from the simulator to real flight. This raises questions about the required quality of individual simulator components, e.g. the importance of motion simulation.

In addition, the need to adapt the simulators to new didactic concepts and thus to the training content to be taught must be investigated. These new concepts also include the training of pilots by instructors who no longer have to sit directly in the simulator (remote simulator training). Due to the associated optimization potential, the interest in the results on the part of the training companies is correspondingly high. In addition to the conventional teaching of basic flying skills, this applies in particular to the recognition and termination of dangerous flight situations (Upset Prevention and Recovery Training, UPRT).

A further objective in connection with training effectiveness relates to flying close to cities with new highly automated aircraft (AAM). Their pilots must operate completely new configurations with at least the same very high level of safety as today's civil aviation. In this environment, learning basic flying skills on small aircraft becomes less important than understanding the complex flight control systems. The situational awareness of flight crews and their understanding of the physical limitations of the aircraft must be very well developed in order to minimize the risk of operating errors in extreme situations. This change in the workplace is having an increasing impact on flight crew training.

The results obtained in the project on training effectiveness with new simulation technologies can be used by both the simulator industry and training companies to make the right decisions for future developments. In large civil aviation, flight simulators are accepted, cost- and time-efficient training devices that have been approved by the responsible authorities. In the small aircraft sector, cost efficiency is even more important due to the comparatively low cost of flying hours. In addition, even with proven training effectiveness, the path to certification, for example with EASA, must be demonstrated.

New tasks for innovative MR simulators

This project aims to evaluate the use of mixed reality simulators (MR simulators) for training pilots in the field of small aircraft and for future training for advanced air mobility in terms of training effectiveness. For this purpose, two MR simulators will be procured and used to investigate the following topics at the DLR Innovation Center at Würselen (Aachen city region) and at cooperating flight schools:

1. Upset Prevention and Recovery Training
   
   When an aircraft gets into an uncontrolled flight attitude, the result is often fatal! According to the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, the event category 'Loss of Control in Flight' (LOC-I) is also the most frequent cause of accidents in the small aircraft sector. This is why there is the greatest potential to increase flight safety through training.
   
   Training to avoid dangerous situations and their recovery (Upset Prevention and Recovery Training, UPRT) in the simulator is very demanding, as so-called 'negative training' must be avoided at all costs. The term 'negative training' refers to pilot reactions that avoid or avert danger in the simulator but are ineffective in real flight or, in the worst case, even exacerbate danger. One example of this would be training the correct reaction to an imminent stall. As a result of icing in the static stowage system, this would not be recognizable on the airspeed indicator. An indicator could then be the vibrations that can be felt in the cockpit, together with the (correct) display of the pitch angle at a given engine power, these give an indication of the imminent dangerous flight condition. In such a case, an incorrect display of the latter signals due to faulty or incomplete data packets could lead to a flight attitude that deviates from the real aircraft.
   
   This project investigates how the use of MR simulators can contribute to increased UPRT training effectiveness.
   
   
2. Training effectiveness and economic efficiency
   
   The adaptation of the simulators to the didactic concept and thus to the training content to be taught contributes to the success of the flight simulators. However, training flight personnel in small aircraft in a way that is both effective and cost-efficient is a major challenge. In principle, it becomes easier to provide effective training with higher simulation quality. However, the biggest challenge is to enable a lower hourly rate in the simulator than in the aircraft.
   
   To achieve this, all cost-intensive components must be scrutinized: These include, in particular, the simulation of aircraft movements. In addition, flight maneuvers in the simulator cannot be represented identically to the real flight, which is due in particular to the limited movement space of the motion systems used. At the same time, the proportion of the total costs of a flight simulator accounted for by motion simulation is relatively high. This results in a conflict of objectives: on the one hand, the costs should be reduced by using a smaller motion system, while on the other hand, the limitations of a smaller system increase.
   
   The aim is to investigate the extent to which smaller movement systems can be used without reducing immersion in essential training content too much. To this end, novel approaches for the conversion of simulated accelerations into movements of the motion system (motion cueing) will be further developed and the limits of this approach will be investigated. The result should be an initial assessment of which flight maneuvers can also be simulated with smaller motion systems with sufficient realism so that the training objectives can still be achieved. This is an important contribution to answering the question of the extent to which flight simulators can be used cost-effectively in the training environment of small aircraft.
   
   Another approach to increasing cost-effectiveness is to reduce the number of personnel involved in training. A remote instructor can provide important feedback based on objective parameters in order to maximize learning success.
   
   The effectiveness of the training is measured by comparing it with real flights. This will be done in cooperation with local flight schools, such as RWL in Mönchengladbach and Westflug at the Würselen-Aachen research airfield. The use of a remote instructor to increase efficiency will also be tested in this context.