Hi-G Demonstration Draws Funny Looks From Participants

Environmental Tectonics Corporation announced the AeroMedical Training Institute's first International High Performance Human Centrifuge (HPHC) Safety Seminar was held at ETC Headquarters in Southampton (PA) late last month. Aeromedical and Engineering professionals from Italy and Sweden attended.

Traditionally, human centrifuges have been low-performance devices. Many were single-axis devices that generated G force through centrifugal force (bottom photo). G-onset rates provided by these centrifuges were typically low. The pilot sat in a gondola that was on the end of the centrifuge arm. As the centrifuge accelerated, the gondola swung out and the centrifugal force vector became approximately aligned with the pilot's +Gz, or head to foot, axis. A passive (resistance) damping system attempted to control the gondola oscillations during acceleration and deceleration. These centrifuges replicated the Gz forces experienced by the pilot during maneuvering flight (but not the other G forces) and provided the pilot a safe and controlled environment in which to experience G forces and learn proper countermeasure so he could tolerate the G forces in flight.

Not just one axis any more...

As aircraft became more sophisticated and higher performance, training needs changed and the demand for high performance human centrifuges that could match aircraft performance grew. In an effort to allow for more interactive and realistic centrifuge training, powered multi-axis centrifuges were developed. These modern centrifuges incorporated powered pitch and roll drive systems, visual displays, interactive flight controls and flight performance models to provide the pilot with an accurate and realistic high G flying experience.

Quick-onset Gs, three-axis Gs -- a safety challenge:

In order to simulate tactical flight, these centrifuges needed to be able to achieve high G onset rates (up to 10 G/sec) and high G levels (up to 15 G). Further, they had to be able to generate not only Gz forces, but also Gx (front to back) and Gy (side to side) forces. While this increase in centrifuge performance has been necessary, it has created a situation where the High Performance Human Centrifuge can, if not carefully controlled, exceed the limits of human tolerance to these G forces. Accordingly stringent safety requirements are needed in these machines to insure the pilot would not be injured in training.

ETC is the world leader in centrifuge safety. ETC produced their first multi-axis centrifuge with this capability, the U. S. Navy C-FET, in 1993. This was followed by deliveries to Singapore in 1994 and the Japanese Defense Agency in 1999.

Newest machine can do more than any aircraft (or any human, for that matter):

ETC's Second Generation High Performance Human Training and Research Centrifuge, the G-FET II (top illustration), is currently under construction in ETC's Southampton facility. It can produce -8Gz to +25Gz, 0 to +8 Gy, and +/-10 Gx sustained accelerations at onsets of up to 10 G/s. The gondola is suspended in an electromechanically powered, dual gimbaled, high performance positioning system that responds to a programmed aeromodel and gives the device the ability to support sustained G, Tactical Flight Simulation (TFS). The high fidelity cockpit has closed loop flight controls, variable seat angle capability, and wide field view, out-the-window visual scenes. These systems are integrated through advanced computer and control architecture and aircraft flight algorithms to produce high fidelity, aircraft specific flight performance.

The G-FET II's Tactical Flight Simulation training capabilities include:

• High G Tolerance Training
• Super-Maneuverable Flight
• Unusual Attitude Recovery
• Missile Avoidance
• Air Combat Maneuvers
• High-G Physiology Research

Trust your programmer and your technicians.

Demonstrations were performed by the ETC Seminar leaders using ETC's G-FET II High Performance Human Centrifuge (pictured at top).

ETC President William F. Mitchell said, "The AMTI HPHC International Safety Seminar was a total success. Feedback from attendees was all positive and ETC plans on making this very important exchange an annual event. In fact, we plan to offer the next HPHC safety seminar in October of this year."

FMI: www.etcaircrewtraining.com/ats_gfet.htm