CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN OF A SEMI-AUTOMATED FLIGHT EVALUATION SYSTEM (SAFES)

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SEMI-AUTOMATED FLIGHT EVALUATION SYSTEM (S AFES) IS PROPOSED. THIS WILL INVOLVE THE INTEGRATION OF CUSTOM SOFTWARE, A MICROCOMPUTER, SOFTWARE UTILIZED BY THE USAF IN LEARNING ABILITIES MEASUREMENT, AND PRECISION AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENTATION. SAFES WILL IMPROVE FLIGHT TRAINING PROGRAMS BY PROVIDING SPECIFIC, OBJECTIVE RECORDS OF PILOT FLIGHT DATA ACQUIRED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF SPECIFIC MANEUVERS. SAFES CAN BE USED TO PROVIDE DATA REFLECTING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NEW INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEMS, CONTROL SYSTEMS, OR ANY OTHER DESIGN WHERE SKILL ACQUISITION OR HUMAN FACTORS PLAY MAJOR ROLES. ADDITIONALLY, SAFES DATA CAN PROVIDE A HISTORICAL RECORD OF PILOT SKILLS FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES, ALLOWING EXAMINATION AND CORRELATION OF OBJECTIVE DATA TO BE MADE THROUGHOUT THE PILOT'S CAREER. PHASE I WILL INCLUDE REFINEMENT OF THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN, PRELIMINARY DESIGN SPECIFICATION, FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS, TRADE-OFF AND OPTIMIZATION STUDY, AND DEVELOPMENT OF A FINAL DESIGN SPECIFICATION TO BE USED IN PHASE II. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO DESIGN A FEASIBLE, LOW-COST FLIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION SYSTEM THAT CAN BE CONSTRUCTED, VERIFIED, AND REFINED IN PHASE II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SAFES TECHNOLOGY WILL EXPLOIT RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT (BFITS FLIGHT CRITERIA METHODOLOGY ) AND NEW HARDWARE CAPABILITIES (LOW COST HIGH PERFORMANCE MICROCOMPUTERS AND FLIGHT INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEMS).