PAVE: A prototype of a helicopter pilot assistant system

A functional prototype of a pilot assistant system for helicopter operations has been developed within the scope of an internal DLR project entitled PAVE (pilot assistant in the vicinity of helipads) under the management of the DLR Institute of Flight Guidance. PAVE concentrates especially on safe takeoff and landing phases even in very difficult visual conditions. Besides today’s standard procedures or emergency procedures in case of an engine failure the research is also being done for the definition of noise abatement procedures and – for future ATM applications – time based procedures. The main function is the capability to generate an optimal plan according to different constraints defined by the pilot. He is able to set waypoints, speed and altitude restrictions, and to define time of arrivals at waypoints. A 4D trajectory planner generates an accurate trajectory which is based on the helicopter performance data, helicopter state, actual weather, and helicopter flight envelope. The trajectory planning module simulates the entire flight along the discretely defined route according to the altitude and speed constraints directly set by just clicking on the moving map. A precisely calculated trajectory is a precondition for time based flight guidance and for conflict detection with terrain, obstacles, other aircraft and helicopter flight envelope limits. The flight intention and the core information for further assistant driven processes like operator communication, Air Traffic Control by data link, and flight progress monitoring are reflected by the trajectory. A navigation display is used for rapid investigation of new solutions by using soft keys and a cursor device. All interface solutions have to be considered in the light of the challenging environment of the helicopter cockpit which can be noisy, have vibration and have restricted space for additional devices and large size screens. To minimize the necessary inputs, the pilot is able to construct flight plans from the navigation database, reuse pilot defined flight plans stored in the system, or upload flight plans generated on the ground prior to the flight. In the simplest case only the destination point has to be inserted by the pilot to get a flight plan with a flyable trajectory. Electronic charts are also available onboard for flight preparation. Helipad images on the basis of High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) images are stored as well to increase situational awareness. The DLR internal project PAVE was accomplished in two phases (PAVE I and PAVE II). Within the first phase the system was developed and in the context of the second phase the system was integrated in DLR’s research helicopter FHS (EC 135) – the flying helicopter simulator with fly-by-light technology. After an introduced explanation of both the helicopter pilot assistant system and the technique of flight guidance the paper describes the results of the first flight trials