Flight Test Evaluation of Safety Concepts for Manned-Unmanned Rotorcraft Flight Operation in a Shared Airspace

Collaborative manned-unmanned rotorcraft operations in shared mission airspace demand new procedures and technical safety systems for a best possible protection of the aircrew. The main risks for the manned rotorcraft operating close to unmanned aircraft have been identified as the collision with the unmanned system and an inappropriate increase in workload due to additional control and monitoring tasks. For the manned helicopter a new display has been introduced to provide all the information needed to localize the UAS and to prevent upcoming collisions. For the UAS an on-board anti-collision system has been developed. To minimize workload and maximize situational awareness a simplified UAS control station has been designed for cockpit use. All those components have been tested in realistic simulations and with appropriate procedures. Selected tests have been conducted in real flight experiments, using two research aircraft: the Flying Helicopter Simulator FHS (EC135) and the VTOL-UAS ARTIS