Pilot Evaluation Comments During Selected Maneuvers From Flight Tests of the HARV NASA-1A Control Law

Under the NASA High-Alpha Technology Program the High-Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) was used to conduct flight tests of advanced control effectors, advanced control laws, and high-alpha design guidelines for future super-maneuverable fighters. The HARV is a pre-production F/A-18 airplane modified with a multi-axis thrust-vectoring system for augmented pitch and yaw control power. Handling-Qualities flight testing at the Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) for the NASA-1A Control Law was conducted in the spring of 1994. Pilot comments during actual flight test maneuvers and following the maneuvers will be useful in evaluation of control law performance. Audio files containing pilot comments were retrieved from the DFRC data system and stored on the Dynamics and Control Branch (DCB) computer complex at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), and pilot comments were transcribed for use as a control law evaluation tool. This report briefly describes the multi-step task used to transcribe these comments and presents transcriptions of actual pilot communications for selected maneuvers using the NASA-1A control law. Documentation includes flight information, maneuver information, time intervals for which comments were retrieved, pilot comments, and pilot Cooper-Harper ratings.