ABSTRACT
Most teams charged with the design of the crewstation of a modern combat aircraft must envy the simplicity of the requirements and facilities in older aircraft types. Now that an embryonic aircraft is regarded as a set of computer-controlled systems with programmable characteristics, there are many more dimensions to the endeavour and the whole gestation is protracted. The aircraft design team may be required to help the customer translate operational aspirations into feasible requirements, explore a wide range of options and choose the optimum before entering into a detailed design that can be built as a prototype for testing. Among the large number of initial considerations is a trade-off between the complexity of automated on-board systems and the necessary number of crewmembers. This, in combination with the variety of possible arrangements of the displays and controls, determines what the aircrew will be asked to do and how well they are likely to do it. These decisions influence the design of the avionics and the airframe, and hence the vehicle performance and cost. They also have repercussions for crew selection, training and numerous logistical issues that affect the cost of operating the aircraft over its service life. Table 4.1 Stages in the development of a modern crewstation
Stage Define
Study
Develop
Build
The job of the crewstation design team may therefore be twofold. Firstly the team may be required to examine crewing issues and make a justifiable recommendation so that the whole aircraft design team can consult with the customer to agree on the crew complement. Secondly,
in the light of this decision, the team must devise a satisfactory arrangement of the crewstation. This, their time-honoured task, must be demonstrably satisfactory because the later any modification of prototype hardware and software is implemented the greater the expense. This chapter is structured to resemble the sequence of processes that can be followed, as summarised in Table 4.1. It discusses the issues the team must resolve and some of the tools and techniques that they can use.
