SOUTHAMPTON, PA -- Environmental Tectonics Corporation's (ETC) National AeroSpace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center announces that it, in conjunction with Embry Riddle Aeromedical University (ERAU), has begun conducting research flights under a FAA-funded research project aimed at examining the effectiveness of using centrifuge-based simulation for Upset Recovery Training (URT).
Loss of control in flight continues to be a major cause factor in loss of life and hull damage aircraft accidents. Modern day commercial aviation currently has no requirement for training to pilots to deal with these situations, commonly referred to as upsets. Realistic training for upsets, or URT, which requires very dynamic and disorienting conditions is difficult because non-centrifuged based simulators do not reproduce the angular and G accelerations or the disorientations of actual upsets. ETC's GYROLAB GL-2000 is an answer to providing these pilots with the representative environments necessary for effective training in recovery from upsets or URT.
The current research project is focused on comparing the benefits of three different types of URT. The first includes only academic lectures. The second type includes academic lecture and computer based training using Microsoft Flight Simulator training software. The third type includes academic lecture plus instruction in ETC's Gyrolab GL-2000, a centrifuge type motion based simulator. The research involves training an equal number of students under each approach. A total of 75 students in all will be trained. Each student's upset recovery skills will then be tested in an actual flight in ERAU's American Champion Aircraft (ACA) Decathlon airplane. Additionally, each student receives identical classroom instruction at ERAU.
Prior to the student's arrival, the NASTAR and ETC staff worked diligently to transform the GL-2000 from the resident Boeing 757 Configuration to the ACA Decathlon that the ERAU students will be flying upon their return to Daytona Beach based ERAU. It took several individuals to turn the Gyrolab into an effective tool for URT in an aircraft like the Decathlon.
Upon completion of the test flights, data on the performance of the students will be compared, conclusions will be drawn and finally a report will be published on the results of the research.
