Airmanship

Abstract: The use of unmanned aircraft for civil applications is expected to increase over the next decade, particularly in so-called dull, dirty, and dangerous missions. Unmanned aircraft will undoubtedly require some form of autonomy to ensure safe operations for all airspace users. However, to be used for civil applications, unmanned aircraft must gain regulatory approval in a process known as “certification”. This paper presents a proof-of-concept approach to the generation of certification evidence for autonomous unmanned aircraft based on a combination of formal verification and flight simulation. In particular, a class of autonomous systems controlled by rational agents is examined, and we give examples of 23 different properties, based on the rules of the air and notions of airmanship, which can be used in the formal model checking of rational agents controlling autonomous unmanned aircraft. Our techniques can be based on either 1) implicit models of the aircraft’s physical environment specified in terms of...

Abstract: As virtual reality and artificial intelligence technologies continue to advance, the United States Military is quickly integrating these capabilities into initial flight training through efforts like the Air Force's Pilot Training Next (PTN) program. A persistent issue, however, has been a lack of data guiding (1) the ideal degree of integration into traditional pilot training and (2) the optimal amount of structure for student pilots' training experience. The goal of this study was to evaluate the aforementioned PTN model when applied to the U.S. Air Force Academy's flight training program with special emphasis on the ideal degree of structure for airmanship success. To this end, a quasi-experimental approach was utilized, which included 60 USAFA cadets enrolled in the Powered Flight Program who were pseudo-randomly assigned to three independent groups with varying degrees of structure. The groups (i.e., High Structured, Scaffolded, and Low Structured Groups) represented a spectrum of VR-training curriculum structure ranging from a rigid, lineal objective-completion model (akin to traditional flight training) to an unguided, Montessori-like model. With group assignment as the independent variable, live-flight performance was used as the dependent variable, which was quantified using flight grade cards, number of “landing tabs” (i.e., modified solos) awarded, and a subjective Instructor Pilot rating. Subjective feedback was also obtained from students in each condition. Initial effectiveness data indicated an increased level of perceived self-efficacy in coordination with increased virtual reality simulator time as well as an accelerated rate of positive transfer to real aircraft from the strictly structured and scaffolded groups. The results of this study allow for initial recommendations for forthcoming airmanship training and undergraduate pilot training augmentation efforts across the Department of Defense.

Abstract: : The paper presents baseline data concerning aviator performance and aircraft state variables during local area, low level and nap-of-the-earth flights. Further, information is provided concerning differences in aviator control inputs per unit of time across the three profiles. From the data, it is evident that NOE flight places more demands on both crews and aircraft than the other two types of flight.

Abstract: Aviation has been recognized as one of the ultimate safe socio-technical systems. This contribution discusses the conditions and context that moulded the system safety to its present level by applying integral safety, a sectoral approach and safety as a strategic value. At present the aviation system consists of institutional arrangements at the global level, a shared repository of knowledge and operational experiences, feedback from reality, the notion of Good Airmanship, together with the choice of technology as the flywheel for progress. This architecture made aviation a Non-Plus Ultra-Safe system characterized by a safety performance level of beyond 10-7 accident rate. To cross this mythical boundary in legacy systems like aviation, it is imperative to apply game changers such as socio-technical systems engineering, disruptive technologies and innovation transition management. In such a transition, a shift in focus occurs from performance to properties, from hindsight to foresight, highlighted by the case study of the stall recovery device, the Kestrel concept.