SIMULATION AND TESTING OF THE LANDING PERIOD DESIGNATOR (LPD) HELICOPTER RECOVERY AID

A synopsis is presented summarizing the development tasks, simulation projects, and testing program of the Landing Period Designator (LPD) h elicopter recovery aid. The LPD, an empirical formulation, relates-rea l-time ship motion to safe recovery times for a given aircraft-ship co mbination. The ''proof-of-concept'' testing program required satisfact ion of three criteria. The index must be sensitive to different aircra ft and ship models for given sea conditions. Second, the energy index trace from a low to a high energy state must never violate a given mot ion time delay (termed rise-time). Third, for a given sea condition, t he energy index response using simulated data must approximate recorde d ship motion index response. Test program results supported all three test hypotheses. Having tested scientifically the algorithm, the next phase sought application for the device. This entailed the use of a m anned flight simulator. Recoveries in various sea conditions were cond ucted using the operational limits of several helicopters, the results confirmed usefulness in completing the information available for pilo ted recoveries. In the final phase, the LPD was subjected to at-sea an alysis. The results support the proof of concept hypothesis. In the pr ocess of at-sea testing, an optimal solution was identified for the pi lot and LSO oriented presentations.