"IGF::OT::IGF" OTHER FUNCTIONS: 1.TASK ORDER TITLE: EXTERNAL VISION SYSTEMS PROOF OF CONCEPT (XVS POC) FLIG…

Public award description

"IGF::OT::IGF" OTHER FUNCTIONS: 1.TASK ORDER TITLE: EXTERNAL VISION SYSTEMS PROOF OF CONCEPT (XVS POC) FLIGHT TEST 2. PURPOSE, OBJECTIVE, AND BACKGROUND OF WORK TO BE PERFORMED: UNDER THE FUNDAMENTAL AERONAUTICS (FA) PROGRAM, HIGH SPEED PROJECT (FORMERLY SUPERSONICS), NASA, IN COLLABORATION WITH INDUSTRY, ACADEMIA, AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, IS PERFORMING CUTTING-EDGE, FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST AND EVALUATION OF FLIGHT DECK ADVANCED VISION SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT LOW-BOOM, SUPERSONIC CONFIGURATIONS THAT HAVE NO FORWARD-FACING WINDOWS, BY USE OF AN EXTERNAL VISIBILITY SYSTEM (XVS). XVS IS A COMBINATION OF SENSOR AND DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES WHICH CAN PROVIDE AN EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE TO THAT PROVIDED BY FORWARD-FACING WINDOWS IN TODAY S AIRCRAFT. WITHOUT XVS, THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF ADVANCED LOW-BOOM SUPERSONIC AIRCRAFT IS QUESTIONABLE, SINCE THE LACK OF FORWARD VISIBILITY BY THE PILOT WOULD SEVERELY RESTRICTED AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS AND AIRSPACE USAGE ESPECIALLY WHEN THE WEATHER IS CLEAR AND VISIBILITY CONDITIONS ARE UNRESTRICTED I.E., WITHOUT AN XVS, A LOW-BOOM SUPERSONIC AIRCRAFT CANNOT OPERATE UNDER VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) SINCE IT CAN T SEE-TO-AVOID AND SEE-TO-FOLLOW. NASA IS CONDUCTING A FLIGHT TEST TO OBTAIN DATA ON SEE-TO-AVOID AND SEE-TO-FOLLOW PERFORMANCE USING A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT (POC) XVS IN ACTUAL FLIGHT CONDITIONS. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE TEST IS TO EVALUATE THE XVS SENSOR AND DISPLAY RESOLUTION AND THE RESULTANT VISUAL ACUITY PROVIDED, IN DIRECT COMPARISON TO AN OBSERVER (PILOT) IN THE IDENTICAL `SEE-TO-FOLLOW AND `SEE-TO-AVOID SCENARIOS. THE OBJECTIVE DATA FROM THIS TEST WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP PERFORMANCE-BASED APPROACH AND LANDING STANDARDS WHICH MIGHT ESTABLISH A BASIS FOR FUTURE ALL-WEATHER LANDING CERTIFICATION AND MIGHT INFORM REGULATORY CHANGES THAT WOULD PERMIT XVS USAGE FOR UNRESTRICTED SUPERSONIC FLIGHT OVERLAND, BOTH DOMESTICALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY. THE AIRCRAFT CURRENTLY DESIGNATED FOR INSTALLATION OF THE XVS PROOF-OF-CONCEPT (POC) SYSTEM IS NASA LANGLEY S BEECHCRAFT KING AIR UC-12, N528NA. THE UC-12 SHALL BE EQUIPPED WITH TCAS I AND ADS-B TRAFFIC DISPLAYED IN THE COCKPIT. IN ADDITION AND ACTING AS A PARTICIPATING TRAFFIC, TWO GENERAL AVIATION (GA) AIRCRAFT ARE PLANNED: ONE MEDIUM SIZED, AND ONE SMALL SIZE. THESE AIRCRAFT PROVIDE AIRBORNE TARGETS TO TEST AND EVALUATE THE CAPABILITIES OF THE XVS POC SYSTEM. EACH RESEARCH SORTIE FLIGHT REQUIRES THE TEST AIRCRAFT (NASA 528) AND ONE TARGET AIRCRAFT. ALL OF THE RESEARCH MANEUVERS WILL NOT REQUIRE PATH ADJUSTMENT AS A RESULT OF THE TARGET AIRCRAFT CHANGE. ALSO, BY DESIGN, THE TWO PATHS NEVER CROSS. AIRCRAFT AND RESEARCH SYSTEMS CHECKOUT WILL BE CONDUCTED AT NASA LANGLEY. THE INITIAL CHECK FLIGHT AND EVALUATION FLIGHT TESTING OPERATIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED AT / NEARBY ONE OR MORE POSSIBLE TEST LOCATIONS: NASA WALLOPS TEST FACILITY, WEST POINT MIDDLE PENINSULA AIRPORT, WAKEFIELD MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, ACCOMACK COUNTY (MELFA) AIRPORT, AND FRANKLIN AIRPORT. 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK TO BE PERFORMED: THE CONTRACTOR SHALL WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH NASA RESEARCHERS AND NASA TEST AIRCRAFT/PILOTS AS THEY COLLECT XVS SENSOR AND DISPLAY RESOLUTION PERFORMANCE DATA IN REALISTIC, OPERATIONALLY-RELEVANT FLIGHT CONDITIONS THAT A CERTIFIED XVS WOULD HAVE TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE. THE DRIVING XVS DESIGN STANDARDS TO BE EVALUATED IN THIS FLIGHT TEST ARE SEE-AND-AVOID AND SEE-TO-FOLLOW FIGHT OPERATIONS WHICH ARE CRITICAL ELEMENTS IN VFR OPERATIONS THAT AN XVS MUST SUPPORT. IN ORDER TO EVALUATE THESE OPERATIONS AND COLLECT SVS SENSOR AND DISPLAY DATA, A TARGET AIRCRAFT MUST BE USED IN CONCERT WITH THE NASA FLIGHT TEST VEHICLE. 3.1 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE ONE TARGET AIRCRAFT, FOR A GIVEN FLIGHT DAY, EQUIPPED WITH ADS-B EQUIPMENT INCLUDING COCKPIT DISPLAY OF TRAFFIC AND ONE PILOT TO SUPPORT NASA FLIGHT-TESTING BASED OUT OF LFI AIRPORT. 3.2 THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE ONE ADS-B