Flight Simulator Motion Control Reducing Spurious Lateral Forces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flight simulators experience spurious lateral specific forces during maneuvers, leading to reduced motion cueing fidelity, particularly during coordinated turns and ground taxi operations, due to the neglect of vertical centroid coordinates and non-complementary filters.
Innovation Solution
The method involves calculating the roll angle of the simulator by correcting the originally calculated value with a correction factor proportional to the lateral specific force induced by a wash-out filter, using complementary filters for roll and yaw accelerations, and transforming specific forces at the pilot's reference point to improve motion coordination and reduce spurious forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the vertical centroid coordinate is neglected in calculations, then the computational complexity is reduced, but spurious lateral specific forces are generated during maneuvers
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and separately processes the vertical centroid coordinate (zc-ac) from the overall centroid calculation. By isolating this previously neglected parameter, the system removes the source of spurious lateral forces while maintaining computational efficiency through targeted refinement rather than complete recalculation of all motion parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter set by explicitly including the vertical centroid coordinate zc-ac in the specific force calculations. This parameter addition transforms the computational model from a simplified 2D approximation to a more accurate 3D representation, eliminating the harmful spurious forces that arise from the vertical dimension's omission.
2Device complexity
If non-complementary filters are used for motion cueing, then the filter design is simplified, but motion fidelity is reduced during coordinated turns and ground taxi operations
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements dynamic filter design where the roll and yaw acceleration filters are made complementary, meaning their transfer functions sum to unity across all frequencies. This dynamic relationship ensures that during coordinated maneuvers, the filters work together to preserve motion fidelity without requiring overly complex individual filter designs, achieving both simplicity and accuracy.
3Device complexity
If the pilot's reference point is not considered in specific force calculations, then the calculation model is simplified, but lateral motion cueing accuracy is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces the pilot's reference point as an intermediary element in the specific force calculation chain. By calculating forces at the pilot's reference point rather than directly at the aircraft center of gravity, the system creates a more accurate representation of the forces actually perceived by the pilot, thereby improving lateral motion cueing accuracy without excessive complexity increase.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method to control the movements of a flight simulator involving linear and angular accelerations perceived at a pilot's seat and involving mathematical transformations of a lateral position y and a roll angle φ for said accelerations, wherein mathematical transformations are used with at least one of the following corrections: —Feed-forward of a specific force error due to the y-position wash-out into a roll angle transformation function; —Decomposition of specific force at pilot's position and addition of complementary filters to reproduce suitable side forces in the pilot's seat due to lateral accelerations; —Mathematical transformations linking a pilot's position in an aircraft and flight simulator to a motion base centroid.