Simplified Technique for Modeling Piloted Rotorcraft Operations Near Ships

A simplified framework for evaluating a rotorcraft control system design in the overall operational context of task, pilot, and environment is provided for flight operations near ships. The approach uses a simplified, closed-form formulation for ship motion, a control algorithmic model of the human pilot, and a simplified technique for modeling atmospheric disturbances. An approach for estimating multiloop handling qualities is presented. The proposed methodology is exercised in an example of a rotorcraft in a station-keeping task near the deck of a high-speed ferry in the presence of significant environmental disturbances in terms of both ship motion and turbulence.