Acceptance testing and commissioning of a flight simulator for rotorcraft simulation fidelity research

The rotorcraft industry faces a number of challenges today regarding the replacement of ageing airframes, an expansion in the operational roles of helicopters and a requirement to improve safety whilst reducing the environmental impact of rotorcraft operations. The quantification of simulation fidelity underpins the confidence required for the expanding use of modelling and simulation to develop solutions to these challenges in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Current simulator certification standards do not provide a fully quantitative method for assessing simulation fidelity, especially in a research environment. This article details the commissioning and acceptance process of the new research flight simulation facility at the University of Liverpool, HELIFLIGHT-R, and its subsequent use in a research project 'Lifting Standards: A Novel Approach to the Development of Fidelity Criteria for Rotorcraft Flight Simulators' aimed at developing new predicted and perceptual measures of simulator fidelity. Some initial results from both piloted simulation and flight tests using the Bell 412 Advanced Systems Research Aircraft are reported within the context of the rotorcraft simulation fidelity project.