V/STOL hover stability impact on hover control task

Longitudinal static stability requirements for V/STOL aircraft are discussed in terms of vertical landing on a small ship at night, response of the aircraft to air turbulence, and hovering flight. The increased pilot workload encountered under these flight conditions is considered. Results of a flight simulation study performed to evaluate a specific hover control task, two control systems - attitude rate command and translational velocity command, and the pilots' performance with and without turbulence are reported. It is concluded that the translational velocity command system provides the control requirements for good spot hovering capability and reduced pilot workload.