Incorporating Practical Experience with Aeronautical Design Standard 33 in the United States Naval Test Pilot School Rotary Wing Curriculum

In the last decade, the world of helicopter testing has been significantly changed by the research involved in creating the latest military design specification named Army Design Specification 33, or ADS-33. ADS-33 has moved away from the use of traditional time-based methods of examining a helicopter’s response to control inputs to a method of comparing a helicopter’s response to the frequency of control input. ADS-33 also incorporates stylized but repeatable Mission Task Elements as a replacement for general mission-representative maneuvers. The research community has embraced this new theory and many test and research programs make use of ADS-33 methodology.

As the sole government organization that teaches helicopter flight test techniques, the United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) in Patuxent River, Maryland teaches material that is used in planning and executing helicopter flight tests around the world. While the helicopter curriculum has evolved to provide an introduction to ADS-33 and the theory behind it in a classroom setting, there was no practical application of the methodology. The lack of hands-on experience with ADS-33 techniques put graduates at a disadvantage when working on new helicopter programs. A modification to the helicopter syllabus was developed that incorporated practical experience with ADS-33 style testing into USNTPS helicopter syllabus. Budget and facility constraints mandated low cost and minimal impact to current operations at Patuxent River and required compromises in syllabus development. A combination of low-cost simulator trials and aircraft flights was found to provide significant hands-on experience with ADS-33, with minimum impact to Test Pilot School operations. The syllabus revision improved student's understanding of ADS-33 and better prepared them for modern helicopter testing.