COUGAR Aircrew Training System (CATS)
COUGAR is the chosen support helicopter of the Swiss Air Force.
The Swiss Air Force required a training system that would allow
their pilots to undertake additional conversion and refresher
training that was not dependent on the availability of instructors
or access to full flight simulators. VEGA Deutschland, a subsidiary
of VEGA Group PLC, has developed the COUGAR Aircrew Training System
(CATS) to support this pilot training. CATS combines courseware and
simulator in a consistent user interface. The work was carried out
under a contract awarded by armasuisse, the Swiss procurement and
technology centre of the federal department of defence, civil
protection and sport. CATS has been successfully supporting flight
crew training for COUGAR since March 2005.
The Concept
CATS is an integrated training system consisting of 24 hours of
courseware and a simulator within a single application. It
therefore combines learning with practising to maximise the
training result. The system supports self-paced training. The
student is able to have unrestricted access to the simulator and
any required courseware content, at any time. CATS offers quick
access to information by means of clearly structured courseware
lessons. Students can select topics by specifically requesting
individual pages or by bringing up the context sensitive help
function within the simulator. An expandable lexicon completes the
courseware. The system is suitable for everyday use. The intuitive
and convenient user interface allows the student to concentrate on
lesson content and helicopter operation.
CATS is designed for use with laptops but can also run on
desktop-PCs with up to three screens. This configuration can easily
be changed at any time. This allows parallel use of courseware and
simulator.
Flexibility
Because of its flexibility CATS perfectly supports initial,
conversion as well as refresher training. During initial and
conversion training the student works on all or pre-selected
courseware lessons sequentially. Along the way, he will often be
confronted with pre-configured situations in the simulator in order
to practise what he has just learned. For refresher training the
student will work with the simulator most of the time. If knowledge
gaps are recognised, the respective courseware page can be accessed
directly via the context sensitive help function.
Courseware
CATS contains courseware lessons about all essential helicopter
systems. They teach system overview, basic technical knowledge and
operation in normal and abnormal conditions. Each lesson concludes
with a self-test. The courseware pages are "explored" by the
student in an interactive manner rather than mundanely presenting
one fact after another. Media such as 3D animation sequences and 3D
views of components provide an engaging way of presenting highly
technical information. The courseware also allows the student to
switch to the pre-configured simulator, in order to practise what
he just learnt.
Simulator
The simulator allows the students to practise operational
procedures in "free-play" mode. This allows them to learn about
each helicopter system and how they interact with each other. All
essential systems have been modelled, including the flight
management system, electronic flight instrument system, digital map
system, autopilot and self-protection system.
A number of faults can be injected into each system. This
provides for procedural training in normal and abnormal
conditions.
The simulated helicopter "flies" within a realistic terrain
model based on original elevation data that contains all airfields
and radio navigation aids. The user can place different types of
threats into a scenario to support realistic training of the
self-protection system’s functionality. These features allow the
student to fly a complete mission in the simulator from
"pre-flight" to "engine shutdown". Should a student need assistance
during a simulated operation, they are able, via the context
sensitive help, to call up the relevant courseware pages to assist
them.
Options
CATS can easily be modified or extended. The modular design
enables changes or additions to whole systems or single
functionalities, such as fault states, with relatively little
effort. The system is designed to work with AICC or SCORM-based
learning management systems. CATS can be connected to additional
hardware such as touch-screens to create a physical 'cockpit'
mock-up. This can be done without expensive modifications.
Training Benefits
CATS provides the Swiss Air Force with a highly effective
training system that provides performance improvement and a
substantial return on investment. armasuisse valued VEGA's
directness, high level of transparency and flexibility during the
project. The concept, design and functionality for the Cougar
Aircrew Training System "TH98 CBT Cockpit" has become the benchmark
standard by which all future procurements of equivalent
computer-based training systems are measured.
The key benefits of the system include:
- Training at any time in any place
- An engaging, interactive learning environment
- Independence from instructor availability
- Reduction of training time in a full flight simulator or the
actual helicopter