Spatial Disorientation Courseware

Loss-of-Control In flight (LOC-I) and Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) are the two leading categories of most fatal aircraft accidents from 2011 through 2020 (source). This statistic shows that, although airplanes are very safe these days, control and navigation still very much depend on the experience and training of pilots.

While controlling and navigating an aircraft pilots should always be aware of the potential dangers of Spatial Disorientation (SD). For example, every pilot should be aware of the illusion of pitch-up in a go-around in order to prevent erroneous control inputs. But even so, the illusion still causes fatal aircraft accidents, especially in IMC conditions or when the pilots are distracted.

Training Courseware

multiSIM created a specific training course in D-SIM and D-WORLD to demonstrate the negative effects of Spatial Disorientation to aviators. The goal of the courseware is to increase the awareness of pilots so that potentially hazardous situations are recognized sooner and the effects of Spatial Disorientation are mitigated effectively.

Full-flight simulation

The courseware can be implemented on motion base simulators with (preferably) full rotation capabilities. Because motion perception is essential in SD training, the required motion cueing algorithms are an integral part of the D-SIM software. For effective training and to stay close to reality, the different SD conditions are demonstrated to pilots while flying a simulated fixed wing aircraft or helicopter. Generic or specific, depending on the customer demands.

Many different Spatial Disorientation effects can be simulated in various weather conditions. Examples are:

• Somatogravic illusion
• Leans, post-roll illusion
• Somatogyral illusion
• False horizon
• Sloped runway
• Moving pin-point lights
• Illusion of self-motion
• Effect of spray in heli
• … many more