Preparing pilots for spatial disorientation — General Aviation News - General Aviation News

As pilots, we’re alert of spatial disorientation, but bash you cognize however you would respond if it happened to you?

At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, students get the accidental to acquisition spatial disorientation successful a harmless abstraction successful the university’s caller Spatial Disorientation Laboratory.

Dr. Bob Thomas, who heads up Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Spatial Disorientation Laboratory, stands adjacent its caller simulator, which is being utilized by pupil Nella Filipkova. (Photo by Connor McShane)

Introduced successful October 2022, the caller simulator allows pilots to realistically consciousness and respond to simulations of unsafe formation conditions that tin make disorienting illusions for pilots — illusions that tin imitate the feeling of turning, climbing, oregon descending erstwhile their craft is really flying perfectly consecutive or, worse, doing the other of what the aviator feels down the controls.

The caller sim, which tin rotate afloat 360° revolutions arsenic good arsenic 30° of transportation and bank, simulates vestibular strategy illusions related to the interior ear, which tin origin dizziness, disorientation, question sickness, and illusions similar the “Graveyard Spiral,” a unsafe spiral dive entered into accidentally by a pilot. It besides includes ocular illusions, similar mendacious horizons and runway width illusions.

FAA statistic amusement that betwixt 5% and 10% of each wide aviation accidents tin beryllium attributed to spatial disorientation, 90% of which are fatal.

“We springiness students experiences with each these illusions truthful they cognize however to respond if they acquisition them successful flight,” said Dr. Bob Thomas, an adjunct prof of Aeronautical Science who heads up the College of Aviation’s Spatial Disorientation Lab.

For the caller sim, Thomas modified a Force Dynamics 401cr Motion Simulator, and the university’s Extended Reality (XR) Lab developed the Virtual Reality Aviation Illusion Trainer (VRAIT), which includes a twelve scenarios that students acquisition done a virtual world headset. The script involves students flying successful a Cessna and moving connected a recorded way done each illusion, which lasts astir 5 minutes.

People whitethorn panic and overreact to these illusions erstwhile they are flying successful existent life, said Thomas, adding that introducing them to what each script feels similar successful a controlled laboratory abstraction is invaluable training.

“We each larn astir these illusions, however, it is hard to ideate however it feels and the grade it has connected your perception,” said pupil Nella Filipkova. “It is chilling to ideate that you tin unknowingly acquisition spatial disorientation successful flight. For this reason, everyone should instrumentality vantage of the simulator, truthful they person an thought of what to expect and tin correctly place the illusion were they ever to brushwood one.”

“The laboratory allows students to acquisition perchance unsafe scenarios successful a harmless and controlled atmosphere,” added pupil Derek Matusch. “It could assistance each pilots beryllium alert of the dangers that tin beryllium encountered successful flight.”