Physics Based Modeling of Helicopter Brownout for Piloted Simulation Applications

Abstract : The entrainment and circulation of ground dust and debris during rotorcraft take-off and landing over unprepared fields, often referred to as brownout, represents a serious operational problem for rotorcraft aviation. Recent experience in Afghanistan and Iraq has heightened the awareness of the impact of reduced visibility on safe rotorcraft operations in brownout conditions. Brownout related accidents have led to the loss of more than 20 helicopters and 50 lives since 2001. Improving safety during desert operations has received considerable attention in recent years, focusing on sensing and pilot cueing systems to augment situational awareness in the degraded visual environment associated with brownout, and more recently, a semi-automated system for hands-off landing in brownout conditions.

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