Design of a decision support system for safe landing of high-drag, low-inertia light sport and experimental aircraft

Abstract

Landing high-drag, low-inertia light sport and experimental aircraft requires significant pilot cognitive workload, causing this to be one of the most dangerous phases of flight for these types of aircraft. Reducing pilot workload through a standardized landing procedure will help maximize safety during landing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides many commercial aircraft with standardized procedures for landing, but the same level of support does not exist for light sport and experimental aircraft. In order to calculate a landing approach that can be customized to multiple light sport and experimental aircraft, a model has been developed to test various speed and power combinations with the given runway parameters to determine the best approach(es) for that given aircraft and runway. The simulation model is used to minimize the workload required by ensuring that only the engine power (revolution per minute-RPM) or the approach airspeed (miles per hour) variable remains constant throughout the landing sequence. Since the pilot needs to adjust the speed and power settings in order to follow the landing procedure, keeping one of these parameters constant will minimize pilot workload.