To obtain handling qualities ratings similar to flight in a ground based motion simulator, the motion and visual pilot cueing systems should be optimized to provide realistic cues. A handling qualities experiment conducted on the Vertical Motion Simulator using the GenHel UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter math model demonstrated the benefits of an optimized simulation system. The simulator's motion and visual system frequency responses were measured, the aircraft math model was adjusted to account for the simulator motion system delays, and the motion system gains and washouts were tuned for the bob-up, sidestep and hover tasks. The resulting handling quality ratings from the optimized simulation system are better than the simulation system with the standard GenHel math model for all three tasks. The sidestep and bob-up handling qualities ratings for the optimized simulation system are similar to those from actual flight tests.

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This follow-on paper describes the principal methods of implementing, and documents the results of exercising, a set of six-degree-of-freedom rigid-body equations of motion and planetary geodetic, gravitation and atmospheric models for simple vehicles in a variety of endo-and exo-atmospheric conditions with various NASA, and one popular open-source, engineering simulation tools. This effort is intended to provide an additional means of verification of flight simulations. The models used in this comparison, as well as the resulting time-history trajectory data, are available electronically for persons and organizations wishing to compare their flight simulation implementations of the same models.

There has been a significant effort within the simulation community to standardize many aspects of flight simulation. More recently, an effort has begun to develop a formal scenario definition language for aviation. A working group within the AIAA Modeling and Simulation Technical Committee has been created to develop a standard aviation scenario definition language, though much of the initial effort has been tailored to training simulators. Research and development (R&D) simulators, like the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS), and training simulators have different missions and thus have different scenario requirements. The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the unique tasks and scenario elements used at the VMS so they may be captured by scenario standardization efforts. The VMS most often performs handling qualities studies and transfer of training studies. Three representative handling qualities simulation studies and two transfer of training simulation studies are described in this paper. Unique scenario elements discussed in this paper include special out-the-window (OTW) targets and environmental conditions, motion system parameters, active inceptor parameters, and configurable vehicle math model parameters.

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