Abstract:
To address the need for an objective assessment and comparison of pilot performance, a structured evaluation method is developed and applied specifically to Vortex Ring State (VRS) recovery techniques in flight simulators. This method assesses three key aspects of recovery performance: correct application, effectiveness, and consistency across recovery techniques. Correct application is defined using simple threshold-based criteria for each control input, providing pilots with clear, actionable feedback. Recovery effectiveness is normalized across varying initial conditions using a predictive model of minimum achievable altitude loss. Consistency is measured through the variation of performance across repeated attempts. Results are communicated at three levels of observation: individual, comparative, and aggregated. In terms of experimentation, a group of pilots, including Captain Claude Vuichard, flew all three recovery techniques in an H125 flight simulator to support the development of the evaluation method. Then, a single pilot flew the same techniques in a Robinson R66 helicopter and an R22 simulator, enabling both testing of the method and a preliminary comparison between helicopter and simulator performance.