Pilot Performance in Sustained and Oscillating Lateral Acceleration - AFTI/F-16 Rudder Tracking

摘要

A group of AFTI/F-16 Project Test Pilots was exposed to a series of lateral acceleration exposures of 40 seconds duration. The acceleration was either a sustained + or -2 Gy, or oscillating + or - 2 Gy. The pilots were required to perform a multidimensional tracking task while tracking a target moving randomly in the + or - Y axis. Performance in this stress and workload environment was examined with two different restraint systems. The first was a conventional lap and shoulder harness array; the second was the same harness system augmented by shoulder restraint pads of a design proposed by the airframe manufacturer for the AFTI/16. With or without shoulder pads, the sustained acceleration exposure were shown to degrade performance. Less degradation was observed in the oscillating environment. It was recommended that the design of the shoulder restraint pads continue pending a decision on likely tactical use of sustained and oscillating Gy. Rudder tracking in this environment was shown to be a viable implementation but was seen to be workload and fatigue susceptible. Consideration of pitch and roll stabilization during lateral acceleration was suggested. Pilot maintenance of adequate line-of-sight with the head-up display (HUD) was shown to be difficult without shoulder pads. Some measurements of pilot upper body displacement were made during the exposures.