Evaluation of a steep curved rotorcraft IFR procedure in a helicopter-ATC integrated simulation test

摘要

In the European Commission Framework VI project OPTIMAL: "Optimised Procedures andTechniques for the Improvement of Approach and Landing", steep and possibly curved-segmented,rotorcraft IFR procedures have been developed in order to increase airport capacity, improve efficiencyand reduce the noise footprint of rotorcraft.Two special features of the rotorcraft IFR procedures are 1) a steep glideslope of 6o-10o, and 2) a finalsegment that may contain a curve. The procedural flexibility this affords in an ATC environment, whenproperly laid out, is to enable a rotorcraft to operate simultaneously with fixed-wing IFR traffic withoutinterference. This concept is called SNI: Simultaneous Non-Interfering.A particular, curved, SNI procedure was designed and tested in NLR's ATC simulator, coupled withNLR's helicopter simulator, in the simulated Amsterdam Airport environment. Evaluation using AirTraffic Controllers and helicopter pilots indicated a definite increase in the airport's capacity, but somedeficiencies in the procedure design. Suggestions for improvement were given by ATC.